Jade's secrets
by ScottyBgood
Summary: Jade is a girl with secrets. For someone so honest and direct, she keeps her secrets to herself, some even from her boyfriend. But what happens when her secrets start to get out? How will the school react? And how will she? Read and find out what secrets, or end it as she knows it. No supernatural stuff. I don't own Victorious or it's characters, I make no money. Don't sue.
1. Chapter 1

New Story, or rather one I worked on last year and dropped, but was too attached to to just let it go. I have a few chapters written, and hope this encourages me to write more.

Disclaimer, the usual about me not owning the victorious characters.

:}

It was another Thursday, and the gang was sitting in their usual spot for lunch, but no one was talking. Once again, Jade and Beck were fighting, and everyone wanted to stay out of the crossfire. Maybe Back and Jade were keeping it down, for their own reasons, but the whole thing was building, waiting to explode again. They'd fought before, But this time it was different. They weren't bickering on and off, like they've done in the past. Rather, it was one ongoing, continuous fight with long stretched of tension filled silence between the brief flareups of the arguments. Neither combatant asked for anything more than an occasional opinion, but that was more then enough to drag everyone else into the fighting. Now, people were trying not to get dragged into taking sides.

"So, Jade, You never told me, how's the new place?" Robbie asked, trying to make conversation. He immediately placed his hand over his mouth as soon as he'd asked, but it was too late, the question hung there like a cancer growing before their eyes.

The fighting had started over two months ago, with what was at the time good news. "I'm moving into a new house. It's big, huge even. It's got two master suits, lots of other amenities, and the best part is, I'll be living with my dad." Jade had told her friends. Actually, she'd told everyone. She'd posted that exact statement on The Slap, plus announced it in more than one of her classes. Tori in particular was happy to see the moody girl so excited about something good happening in her life. Only Beck had tried to keep her grounded, telling her that living with her father was still going to be the same as living with her mother. Just other peoples rules to follow.

"I don't want to talk about it." Jade snapped back, glaring at the nerdy boy. After the move, she was suddenly silent about her new home. Jade told her friends that Beck was right about one thing, there were rules. She wasn't allowed to have friends over, or even show them where she lived. Strangely that's what started the fights with Beck. No one but those two knew the details, but it led to a lot of tension. They were still dating, but Jade was more reactionary than she'd been in a long time, while Beck was almost gloating.

"Come on, Jade, give the guy a break. You told everyone how big and beautiful this house was going to be. The least you could do is show us a picture. Oh, that's right, your daddy won't let you." Beck taunted.

The Canadian had acquired a certain smirk that appeared when he talked to Jade, and often alluded to things not spoken about. That would add to the tension, until Jade snapped back, and the argument ensued. They often fought over how Beck didn't trust Jade, how unstable she was becoming, and how he couldn't trust her if she couldn't trust him. They would fight over other things as well, but those were the main points. It was obvious that her living arrangements were at the core of the fight, and on days like this, it came spilling out into the open. Things were getting ugly.

"Guys, please, I'm sorry I brought it up. Can we go back to the uncomfortable silence?" Robbie asked, sounding almost desperate.

At the same time, Robbie had developed his own problems, or rather his problems got worse. Ashamed of his family, he usually met people at their homes. This wasn't new, he hadn't had anyone over in over six months, and even then it was Beck giving him a ride home. Robbie usually kept as much of his family away from his friends as he could. Despite that distance, they all knew about his issues with his family. They knew he had a sister who collected rare butterflies, had once nearly dropped his cousin into the Tiger habitat at the zoo, that his mother had more than once threatened to leave him, and that his father was embarrassed by his actions, and possible his entire lifestyle. Robbie didn't have people over, but despite whatever he may claim, everyone knew it was because no one wanted to go to his place. The Shapiro's seemed to be a majorly dysfunctional family, with lots of issues. Just recently, it seemed to be getting worse.

"So Rex, anything new with you?" Robbie asked his puppet after a couple of minutes of no one talking. Despite asking for it, he didn't like the silence. He once told Cat it reminded him too much of home.

Rex had been unusually quiet. Normally the puppet could be counted on to use whatever new and embarrassing things happened in Robbie's life to humiliate the nerdy boy. Recently, it seemed that the puppet had chosen to pick his battles. Since there wasn't anything Robbie could threaten the puppet with to make it stop harassing him and his friends, everyone assumed his family was into something so freaky, so vile, that the puppet was suffering bouts of amnesia as a defense mechanism, blocking things out to keep sane. Tori in particular was worried when that excuse made a lot of sense. She didn't like buying into the crazy that much.

"Nope. My Nothridge girls seem to want to give me some space. You're a tang repellent, Robbie." The puppet said, glancing at Beck and Jade for just a second. Cat humphed quietly at Rex.

Cat had an easy out from the fighting. As things were escalating, she was spending more time with her roommate and their new business, babysitting. That meant that Cat wasn't available after school nearly as much, so missed a lot of the fights. She had been slowly growing away from the group, but missed hanging out. Jade and Beck responded to her distancing with a sort of truce. They would try and keep things civil during school hours. That way, Cat could feel comfortable at school, the only time she was able to spend with her friends. It worked, to a point. The power couple still fought, but the silence held a lot better than expected. The stress brought on by the silence, however, was getting everyone on edge.

"You got something to say, Red?" The puppet said, then immediately "Sorry Cat, I forgot you're going through stuff right now."

Cat was also quietly holding a semi-tourch for Robbie. It wasn't like she wanted to date him, but she didn't want him to date anyone else until she figure out just what was going on in her heart. Cat had become possessive of the nerdy boy, not happy when he talked to any pretty girls. She was trying to balance that with her desire to have a big, gorgeous man of her own. It made her just a little crazier than normal, and for reasons no one could fathom, Rex respected that.

"It's Okay, little red. Rex is just having trouble now, since he knows Jade is looking for an excuse to rip him apart." Andre said, sounding like he was joking. No one laughed.

Andre also had an out, but not as big of one. His after school job was taking up a fair amount of his time. Unlike Cat, he was working under the limits of a work permit, so there was a lot of time where he wasn't on the job, time for him to be a kid and hang out with his friends. Andre's boss was a less than talented business man who's yogurt shop always lost money. Other business interests, mostly run by the mans wife, kept the shop going, as well as kept the boss in money. Andre didn't mind. The shop could do decent business, but offered only a handful of choices any sane person would want to try. One promotion after another sucked the cash out of the shop, while Andre just kept quiet. His boss didn't like being told he was a dufus, and the musician liked getting his paychecks.

The silence was broken again, this time by Trina running up to the table saying "Oh my god, Tori you have to see this. I found a rare first edition of 'The Lost Seconds' on line. This is so exciting. If it's signed, I have to buy it." This was a level of excitement Trina usually reserved for boys she wanted to stalk, when she got a roll in anything, or any time she got to be the center of attention. Tori just smiled and shrugged it off.

Then there was Tori's personal life, starting with her sister. You see, Trina was in love. Well, not in love so much as totally into this new author, Amanda Rothschild. Trina absolutely loved her work. Of the authors six books, two from the current series, Trina had read them all twice. Even the first three Amanda had written, while under contract with Lonely girl publishing, Trina adored. Trina had joined a book club just to discuss these books, and found her way to other fangirls. Unfortunately, one of those fangirls turned out to be Holly Vega, the matriarch of the Vega clan. You could imagine how this affected Tori.

"Trina, please, how rare can the book be. Miss Rothschild's only been writing for about two and a half years." Tori said, feeling embarrassed by Trina's excitement.

Despite her reaction, Tori understood the attraction. Amanda Rothschild's writing style was often grim, but with a deep under layer of hope. No matter how bad the situation got, her characters held onto their basic humanity and their love for one another. It was the kind of romantic drivel Tori loved to torment Jade with. That included acting out a few pages in Sikowitz's class. Beck eagerly volunteered to play the male part, and Jade was forced to listen as they performed the scene with all the romance they'd be allowed at school. That was just days before Miss Rothschild's management announced that her series had been optioned, and was going to be made into movies, with some big stars competing to play the lead rolls. Tori could see why the stories were best sellers, and how Lonely Girls fucked up when they didn't offer her a huge amount of money (beyond the practically nothing they offer all their writers) to stay and keep writing for them. "The Lost Seconds" was her first self published book. Miss Rothschild self published, and was probably rich.

"I think it's great that so many people love her work. We should rally look into doing one of her books as a play." Beck said, probably to annoy Jade. His eyes were on the goth the whole time he said it.

Then there was the "Layers of Shadow" series. Somewhere between the romance and supernatural fiction with an emphasis on old school horror, this series was the hottest thing in two genre's to come along since 'Interview with the Vampire'. Fans flocked to the bookstores to get the latest release, while reading some of her earlier works to understand her style. The supernatural member of the pair, a sorcerer turned into a vampire, was fighting deeper, darker creatures of the night as well as his own kind to protect the world and the girl he loved. That girl started, as girls do in this kind of chiz, innocent and pure. In the second book, to survive, she becomes a witch. It changed the dynamics of the pair while giving the girl the power to help her lover stand against the growing legions of the night. People were eagerly awaiting the release of the third book in the series, "Illuminations," Even though the second book was released less than four months ago.

"Trina, I think we shouldn't talk about this here. Lets just keep everything peaceful for the few minutes left at lunch." Tori said, looking around the table. Mostly, she was glancing at Beck and Jade.

Of course Tori had read the books. She'd secretly read every one of Trina's copies before getting the digital versions for herself. Honestly, Tori didn't know anyone, except Jade, who hadn't. Even Cat had read the more romantic books, and seemed familiar with the whole "Layers of Shadow" series. So Tori had read the books, mostly to get her dose of romance when her life seemed to be lacking, but she did like them.

Only thing was, she was far more interested in the relationship between Beck and Jade then the romance of two supernatural beings or some whinny lovestruck heroine's need to prove herself worthy of her lover. Their story had more of a personal feeling to it. Tori was watching, waiting for something, but unsure what. She knew the relationship was dying, and that idea scared her. Beck and Jade had broken up before, even stayed single for months, but during that time, Tori was sure that the two would get back together. Now she wasn't so sure. To her eyes, they were ending, and she didn't know where that left her. Tori wanted Beck, just not Beck. She couldn't put her finger on what that meant, but it's what kept her up at nights.

"Dude!" Jade said. "Don't taunt Tori." She was talking to Beck, making it clear she wasn't happy about anyone making a play out of that girls work, or perhaps just reminding Tori just who didn't have a date for the weekend. Jade managed to smirk at her redirect, but only for a second. It was a subtle jab at Tori, but it seemed to give her some joy.

Once again, it seemed, Tori was single and not dating. She meet some nice boy, and inevitably something would go wrong, or be wrong, and she'd break up with them. The only exceptions were the guys who seemed too perfect to be true, because the weren't. These were the guys who knew how to approach a girl, how to talk to her, flattering her while seeming a bit humble. As the girl fell for them, the manipulations began. Loyal friend like Beck and Jade tried to keep her from falling into the traps these guys laid, but that seemed to be the kind of guy Tori trusted. Other then the bad ones, she only trusted a few of the good guys, guys like Andre. She'd date Andre, but along with her trust came an almost familial relationship. He was like a brother to her. So she didn't have any prospects at that moment, and felt safer waiting for whatever was happening to blow over before seeking companionship. She did have Miss Rothschild's early works to keep her warm.

"But we all need a little romance in our lives." Trina whined.

Problem was, Tori had figured out that life wasn't like the cheesy romance novels. The hero didn't know he was in love by a deep feeling that was understood from years of soul searching. The damsel, unaware the perfect man was just around the corner, didn't manage to stay strong and wait it out. People had no clue about what others wanted until the others told them, or hinted in a way that would be understood. Tori was focused on her work, because that she understood. Jade and Beck were her forever couple. As their relationship died, so did her hope for a fairytale ending.

"You guys give me a rash." Jade's words were hardly original, but was still a decent line to walk out on. Tori watched her go, feeling deep inside that somehow, when the dust cleared, they wouldn't be friends.

Later that day, in Sikowitz's class, things were not progressing, and they couldn't hide their problems behind the class projects. Part of the reason was their teacher was out. He never called in sick unless he was so out of it he couldn't get out of bed. Last winter, the crazy coconut lover had infected half the school because apparently the flue wasn't reason enough to miss a day of educating his students.

But today he was out, for the one reason he'd excuse any absence. He had a part in a Movie. It was a small part, playing a drama teacher in a performing arts high school, as well as the female leads ex. Tori remembered Sikowitz, while preparing for the part, telling the class how he was having trouble relating to the character. More than once he'd say something like "I understand the whole ex boyfriend part, but the drama teacher thing? How would I act? How would I inspire my students? I'm just not finding this guy." The project, however, was just too good for him to pass up. While just a made for TV movie that would play on the romance channel, it was also a speaking roll, and he would be gone a total of two weeks for filming. With the crazy teacher gone, the poor substitute was trying to fill his shoes, but had no idea what was going on. Despite over a months advanced warning, Sikowitz had failed to leave lesson plans. Probably because he didn't have any. "Besides," Jade had quipped, "how do you fill the shoes of a guy who doesn't wear any?"

So the class was a mix of whatever acting exercises Helen would offer, and sitting around talking until it was time to go home. Today was talking.

"Can someone give me a ride?" Robbie asked, out of the blue.

"Dude, why?" Beck answered. Lately Sinjin had replaced Robbie as Becks main nerdy friend. Robbie and Beck were still friends, but Beck had a lot more in common with the lanky boy then he did with Robbie, so often the puppeteer would have to seek someone else to help him out. It further infuriated Jade, not just Becks hanging out with Sinjin, but that the handsome boy had allowed himself room for only one nerd as a close friend. Jade could almost forgive hanging out with Sinjin, but the lanky boy stared at things she didn't want to share. Also, she didn't seem to like the way he just 'dropped' Robbie as if the puppeteer wasn't good enough any more.

"Sorry, can't." Andre said. "I got work today."

"Trina's driving me." Tori said.

"I don't have room on my bike. Maybe Jade can give you a lift." Cat said. The ditzy girl's tone showed an unhealthy hope that Jade would break her 'Don't care' policy to give the boy a ride.

"Yea, Jade, maybe you could give Robbie a lift. I'll bet he would even pay for gas." Beck shot out, Sounding both tired and annoyed. Jade gave her boyfriend a death glare.

"Okay, I'll drive you. But if your bike scratches my car, you'll be paying for every repair it needs for the next year." Jade said. To Tori, it almost felt like she gave in too easily.

"No worries about that. I left me bike at home. My mother dropped me off. Unfortunately, she has to pick up my sister, but I told her I'd just get a ride from one of my friends." Robbie said. Rex would let that setup slide.

"You should walk home." Jade replied, voice flat. "You should never have assumed you'd be getting a ride." Somehow his assumption has further wazzed Jade off.

"Jade, you offered a ride, so drive the poor boy home." Beck said. His voice carried a load of frustration, and somehow that seemed to make Jade flinch, just barely.

Tori looked at her friends. This conversation was far too hostile for her tastes, and once again Jade was playing the part of the bad guy. The whole thing felt like the end of an era. Jade was taking everything as an attack. 'Why is she so reactionary?' Tori thought.

The confusion was heightened by the fact that Tori's main social group was caught in the middle of whatever was going on. They all could feel the tension, but no one bothered to try and figure out what was going on. Tori knew how private Jade could be, and Beck was more than willing to abandon his 'No secrets' image to keep whatever was going on strictly between him and Jade. Tori could understand, except the gang was being dragged in and suffering, becoming collateral damage to their fights. She needed another opinion, but it would take far to long to explain things to her remaining friends at Sherwood.

Tori wanted to talk to Trina, clear her head from all her worries. Unfortunately, all her sister was interested in was the hundred dollars it would take to get the rare, signed first printing of 'The Lost Seconds' she'd need to buy it from the collectables bookstore she'd found. Instead Tori started thinking about what she wanted to be doing over her weekend. 'One day of school left, then a whole weekend off.' She'd let her fears die with the morning. She'd see that everything was all right, and no one was leaving her little group of friends. That's how life was, almost nothing changes.

:}

I know, a lot of setup, and I'm sure you've already figured out all my twists. But I'll probably post more chapters later, as I feel like it. Or on Fridays, depending. Anyways, next chapter, something happens and we have a plot. See you then.


	2. Chapter 2 Boom

Disclaimer: You've already read it, but still, I make no money of this.

So, chapter two, and we start to get some plot.

:}

The next day, as Tori was getting ready for school, her phone beeped. It was the slap alert, letting her know that one of the people she followed had updated their slap page. She checked, and had posted another picture to his page. Thinking it could be funny, Tori opened it to look. Once again Robbie had chosen to take a selfy of himself in a shirt that looked wrong on him. It was too tight, like when he wore his sisters shirt. However, that shirt was bright and colorful. This shirt was white with black and red Gothic designs showing several anthropomorphic rabbit like objects ready to end their lives in some mass exiguous from this world. It was a band shirt for some off style rock band and Tori knew she'd seen that shirt before. 'I just don't remember where.' Still, it looked ridicules on Robbie, like he was trying to be a rocker. He even had his hands up in that rocker style. Tori decided to leave a comment about how Robbie didn't sell being a bad ass, and focused on getting ready.

By the time Trina had driven them to school, Tori had almost forgotten about the picture. Instead, she became more concerned with her friends apparent distress. The moment she walked into school and saw a couple of her friends, she knew something was wrong.

Towards the center of the entry hall Beck was pacing, agitation seeping from his pores. Next to him Andre was trying to calm him down. None of the others seemed to have arrived yet. Tori immediately focused on Beck, worried about his apparent ire. 'Beck doesn't get angry, let alone this worked up.' She didn't have time to think about where the others might be. Other students were arriving and for whatever reason were lounging in the hall. A quick glance around let tori know they were watching, waiting, keeping an eye on the door as if something big was about to walk through it. Tori noticed that, but focused on Beck, drifting towards where he and Andre were. She caught part of the conversation.

"Calm down. There has to be an explanation for why he's wearing Jade's shirt." Andre was saying. Beck kept pacing and glancing at the door.

"Hi guy's" Tori said, then she stopped and processed what she just heard. 'That's where I saw it before. Jade's likes that band. I think she's one of the few who does.' Tori thought. "What's happ... Why was Robbie in Jade's shirt?"

"I don't know. I don't know why he's in her shirt. A shirt she hasn't worn in the last ten days, and wouldn't share reguardless." Beck said. He looked ready for the next fight, and judging by his level of agitation, this could be the last one he and Jade would have as a couple.

"There has to be a good reason he's in that shirt." Andre said, still trying to play peacemaker.

"Let's look at the facts. It's a small, too small for him. So it's obviously a girls shirt. There aren't too many of that shirt floating about. Jade's friends with the drummer, so she got the shirt from them before they left on tour. It's one of the few ways to get that particular shirt design. So the odds of another shirt like that showing up in Hollywood are pretty slim. The question becomes, how did Robbie, of all people, wind up wearing Jade's shirt?" Beck said. He was clearly building up his anger, waiting for the explanation as to why Jade had let Robbie stretch out one of her favorite shirts.

Around that time Cat arrived earlier then usual, given the distance she has to bike to get to school. That morning, the petite girl looked a little down. She walked to Andre's locker and slumped down in front of it. Her bright clothing no longer reflected her mood, instead she looked like she'd been hurt, emotionally. She started staring at the door, watching for something as she crushed Mister Purple to her chest. She was holding back tears as she waited. It looked like her whole world revolved around whatever she was waiting for, and that seemed to be what the growing crowd was waiting for as well. Tori could only guess it had to do with Cats on again off again crush on Robbie.

Andre's calm exterior was cracking, showing how worried he'd been. It was only exasperated by Cat's arrival and mood. He was trying to stay reasonable, but seemed to know that, whatever happened next, could forever alter the dynamics of their little group of friends. His Eyes glancing to the door, Tori, Cat and Beck, Andre seemed to be focused on calming things down until Jade arrived.

It was a lost cause. Whatever Beck was feeling, it went deeper than just a shirt. Like Cat, he had emotional investment in someone involved in this situation, so the possibility of a rational discussion seemed almost nonexistent. All over a selfie and Jade's shirt.

Tori continued to watch the scene play out, partially because she had no idea what to do. She looked for her sister, and saw that Trina had joined the crowed. The older Vega girl was using the crowds to hide, probably from any misplaced anger that might leak out when the missing members of what Sinjin calls 'the main people' arrive. It also looked like the elder Vega was looking to enjoy a little reality. Even Tori had to admit, from the perspective of someone not involved, Jade's explanation, All the emotion, it was bound to be better than anything on TV.

For a few more minutes, the tension mounted as everyone was standing around, waiting, until finally the door opens and Robbie walked in. Immediately Beck makes a line for the puppeteer, followed by Andre, Tori and Cat. The nerdy boy didn't see them, busying himself with visiting his locker.

"What were you doing wearing Jade's shirt this morning?" Beck confronts Robbie. The Puppeteer turned to see what was wanted. Instantly Beck was in his face. Too close. He tried to step backwards, into his locker, just to give himself some space.

"It was my sisters shirt, I swear it!" Robbie shot back, near panicked.

"Your sister listens to 'Suicidal Bunnies?'" Beck asked, making it clear he probably wouldn't believe anything the other boy said.

"No, she just likes the shirt." Robbie stammered back.

"That was Jade's shirt. Now tell me why you were wearing Jade's shirt. No, scratch that, tell me how you were wearing Jade's shirt." Beck had cornered the smaller boy against his locker. Before Robbie could answer, a murmur ran through the growing crowd. Jade had entered the building.

The students parted, giving her a direct line to her locker. Jade ignored Beck almost throttling Robbie and focused on exchanging books for the morning. It looked like she was just going to disregard the whole thing. Of course, Beck wasn't going to let her. To make matters worse, gossip was already starting to flow in low whispers. Jade was wearing the shirt. That shirt!

"What do you have to say about this?" Beck said, his voice dripping venom.

"Don't get blood on my locker." Jade replied, turning to leave. The crowd closed in, blocking her path, a strangely brave thing for many of them. Jade didn't have time to give them more than a single glare before she was confronted again.

"Jadey, how could you?" Cat screamed, closing the distance between her and the taller girl. The redhead was vibrating. "You knew I kinda liked him, and you went and did, I don't know what you did, but you did it with him." Cat said, starting to cry. The smaller girl stood up to Jade despite the tears, and while neither moved for several seconds, it was clear that Jade had no desire to just push Cat out of her way.

"I didn't do anything with him. And who's him?" Jade said, feeling defensive. She seemed confused by the whole ordeal, and for now seemed willing to keep her temper in check and find out what the whole school was bugging about. "Did you take your special medication today?"

"Jade, please explain to these people that there is nothing between you and Robbie." Andre said, keeping his voice neutral.

"Wai...What?" Jade said, her voice turning dangerous, eyes burning through the musician.

"So you don't deny it?" Cat accused, and Jade's head shot back to stare at the smaller girl. Jade couldn't form a single word to describe what she was feeling. She didn't get the time.

Beck looked up from his phone, the object now in his hand, and addressed his girlfriend. "Please, Jade! We all know you dropped Robbie off this morning. And yesterday, after school, you took him home. Care to explain?" He said. Tori had no idea how he knew she'd dropped Robbie off this morning, but suspected it had something to do with his phone.

"You guys asked me to take him home. He still needed a ride, so I picked him up this morning. I Do one nice thing and what? Everyone's freaking? So what is everyone so janked up about?" Jade shot at Beck.

Beck pulled up the picture of Robbie in her shirt. "This. How is it he is wearing your shirt?" He showed her the picture for another second. "Jade, I know you've been lying about the new house. I know your mother doesn't make that much money, and your father doesn't give her much help. I mean, does he even care about you. Your family? I can even understand needing to make some money. I just didn't think you'd turn to.." He was having trouble finishing his statement.

"What? You think I slept with him? You think I'm a whore?!" Jade's voice was echoing down the halls, and she looked ready to hurt someone. Several onlookers in the crowd decided they didn't need to be in the front row.

"I don't know what to think. I just know you've been lying to us for the longest time. There's no shame in being here on scholarship, Jade. Tori's here on scholarship." Beck said.

"Hay!" Tori said, kinda offended. She didn't like her business being shared, but didn't have time to focus on that.

"But to sell yourself, just to have enough money to fit in. I don't care how much you think you needed the cash." Beck sounded disgusted with her.

"No shame, Tori" Andre started

"I never slept with him!" Jade screamed.

"I'm here on scholarship too." Andre finished, but no one seemed to hear him.

"It's my sisters shirt!" Robbie added, but again, no one seemed to believe him, or Jade. Things were tense, and if something didn't give soon, it could turn violent. That's when it happened, that's when the bell rang.

The bell rang, and the day started. The group broke up reluctantly, not wishing to get the vice principal on their cases again. Just because they were interrupted by the bell didn't mean it was over, not by a long shot. Jade and Beck text fought for the rest of the day, each writing stuff to hurt the other. Rumors starred running through the school, of how Jade's parents didn't have much money, and the gank queen of the school was living a lie trying to have the same stuff as her friends. Jade was outed as one of the poorest students at Hollywood Arts.

Lunch came, and it was time for the group to pick sides. Jade was on her way to their usual table when she was confronted by Cat.

"You knew I liked him! Why did you have to seduce him?" Cat screeched. She was Jade's best friend, and one of the few people who knew how little Jade had in the past. She also knew that Jade's father had taken an interest in her family again, just in the last two years, and that had helped the family immensely. First they moved into a better house, then the recent move. Jade got a car, a better phone, a computer, all the things that came with more income. Now Cat wondered what Jade had done to get these things. Cat didn't like to think Jade could be doing that kind of stuff, but 'maybe her father is her pimp.'

"I'm telling you, I didn't seduce him. I'd never fuck him." Jade said.

"Jade, I want to believe you, I really do, but you don't give me anything to hold onto. I know what I saw, and that was your shirt, the one you're wearing now. So why was he wearing it this morning?" Cat asked. The small girl's hands shook with frustration. Jade looked at her.

"I didn't let him try on my shirt. He says his sister has one just like it. I choose to believe him." Jade said, her voice neutral. Controlled. Cat could tell Jade was acting, using her skills to hide her emotions. The thing is, Jade probably wanted to sound calm, and this wasn't the time to be calm.

Cat almost swung on Jade, but held back. Her anger didn't quite override her sense of self preservation. Instead she went to their regular table and sat down. Beck and Andre were already there, and Tori was coming up with her sister. They took up their seats at the table, while their glares told Jade she wasn't welcome. Not in the mood to push things, Jade sat at another table. Robbie also sat alone, but out of necessity and a shortage of tables was near Jade. Neither wanted to start spreading rumors, but there were only so many places to sit down and have lunch. They couldn't sit far enough away from each other anyways, even if they were in different rooms.

Naturally, more rumors started. Students spent the second half of the day analyzing everything. How close or far the two sat, how often they looked at one another, and anything that might mean something. Rumors spread of an affair, or that Jade was a kept woman, trading sex with Robbie (Or his father, or both) for the money she used for her nicer things. Some people even accused her of "Doing the puppet."

By the end of the day, Jade was done. People could see how angry she was, how she barely controlled herself, and they knew her reputation. They assumed she was looking to take her frustration out on someone, and as a result anyone who might want to hear her side avoided her.

Beck meanwhile, was free with everything Jade had shared with him, stuff she'd only trusted a few people enough to tell her deepest secrets. He talked about how her mother never married, and West was her mothers maiden name. Jade was a bastard. Worse, her father was married to someone else, and could only occasionally help out. The rumors Beck was spreading, tinged with the truth, hurt Jade in ways she never wanted to feel. Deep cuts that would take a long time to heal.

It was obvious to Tori that Beck felt betrayed, and was returning the favor. She felt for him. What she didn't realize was, like so many hurt parties, he had no sense of proportion. He had no idea when he was even, when he'd gone past any resemblance of even, let alone when he inflicted the deepest wounds.

All the while Jade seemed to have nothing to say about it, and just let herself stew in her pain and resentment. For far too many students, this was just the sorted entertainment they had been looking for. Others might have felt sorry for her, but this was the fall of the ice queen, and they couldn't find it in themselves to feel for the girl who once terrified them.

The day ended with more rumors. Jade had promised Robbie a ride home, and when none of their friends was willing to offer him a ride, she reluctantly gave him one. Tori heard what people were saying as the goth led the nerdy boy to her car. Everyone assumed that Jade would at least blow Robbie before he went in that evening. Cat cried, but didn't do a thing to prevent Robbie from riding with Jade. It seemed easier to spread rumors than to try and change the situation.

Tori would, on and off, spend her weekend thinking about what had happened. Jade had fallen from her perch as queen of Hollywood Arts. She'd obviously slept with Robbie, probably for money, and who knows how many others she'd slept with in the past, just to earn some money. The only person Tori knew not jumping on the 'let's hate Jade' bandwagon was Trina.

"This doesn't sound right. I think we're missing something." Trina told Tori on their way home. "Jade would be nicer to Robbie if she was selling sex. That is, unless she's a dominatrix. I'll have to ask mom, I haven't read fifty shade's yet."

Tori rolled her eyes, and switched to more amusing topics. By evening they'd found a party to attend, and were on their way. Tori was careful not to get too drunk or hang out with strangers without someone she knew near by. Strangely it was Trina who'd taught her how to survive parties. The elder sister wasn't anxious to get pregnant and have her career derailed any more than Tori was. As much as she loved her friends, they didn't understand her situation. Jade had always been at parties with Beck, Cat only went with Jade near by, and the guys had no clue about being a girl at a party. Tori had wondered what they could have taught her if they could have gotten pregnant.

Tori stuck up a conversation with a couple of other students she knew from Hollywood Arts. They were part of what Jade called the 'really not that attractive' majority of the students that attended the performing arts school, but Tori felt someone should spend some time with them. It wouldn't do for them to feel any more worthless than they do now. It was also a good way to pass the time without making any commitments.

The party was going fine until Jade arrived. She wasn't there long before she got into a fight. She went at it with a group of Nothridge girls. It took the threat of police involvement, but they ejected Jade from the party after the fight. After Jade had left, the gossip around the party made it very clear that no one had wanted her there in the first place. As for the girls Jade had fought, Tori noticed were the same group she herself had fought in Becks car that one time when she was bumming rides from her friends. Jade, however, had done a far better job against them. One of the girls had to be helped home, and might need to go to the hospital. The fight, along with everything else that was happening, helped Tori make up her mind. She had to do something about Beck.

On the way home from the party, Tori spoke to Trina. "Treen, I need you to promise not to freak out if I start dating Beck."

"No can do, little sister. I'm not letting you date Beck until he's over the whole 'betrayed by Jade' thing." Trina said, driving them home. She had to drop off Andre, who was drunk, before going home.

"You just want Beck for yourself." Tori accused.

"Doesn't matter. Beck is looking to get even. First girl he dates is going to be for sex. I'll bet he slept with at least one girl at that party. I don't want to be his rebound, and neither should you. Once he's had a chance to get over her, then all bets are off. Got that, little sister." Trina said.

"And what makes you think you know so much?" Tori asked.

"I listen when I peer counsel." Trina said.

"You're a peer counselor?" Tori was stunned. Her sister was so self centered.

"Yep. It's a great way to stay up on all the latest gossip. Unfortunately, I had to get trained, learn the rules, and now I know stuff I'd love to tell, but can't. I also learned what fucked up lives people live. But I can't stop. I owe doing a good job to my friend Tiffany. She's the one who taught me how to avoid getting raped at parties. Too bad she didn't listen to her own advice." Trina said, just for a second missing her first friend at Hollywood arts. Or rather, the peer counselor who got her through her first year at the school. Tori didn't know the details, just that Tiffany had graduated, and was the mother of twins.

'How did I not notice she did peer counseling?' Tori wondered briefly. Then she shook her head to focus on her current issue, and asked "So I should wait for Beck to get over Jade?"

"Just don't be a conquest. Date someone who wants to date. Beck will be there before you know it." Trina said. "I still think somethings off with the whole Jade thing."

"And I still think it's weird that someone who seems to know as much about boys as you claim to is dating a romance novel." Tori said.

"Amanda Rothschild understands pain, and may be the only woman alive I'd have an affair with. She's just so deep." Trina said. Tori laughed. That had to be the weirdest thing she'd ever heard her sister say. "Don't laugh yet. From what I've read, she has to be great in bed."

Tori was left to try and sleep with that image, the image of some middle aged woman getting to second with her sister, stuck in her head.

:}

It didn't flow the way I wanted it to, but I'm still happy with it. I know there were so me Olympic level conclusion leaping involved in this chapter. Not saying if they were right or wrong, just it happens. People leap to some amazing conclusions with minimal evidence. But, Jade's poor, or was, and her mother was the other woman for her father.

Too the person who said it was boring, I hope this ads a little excitement. I'd original written it with two car chaises and fifteen explosions, but that didn't fit the plot.

So review, let me know what you think. I'll tell you, things will get worse before they get better, and jade may act a little OOC before it's done. I'll explain later, after I don't have too.;


	3. Chapter 3 Choosing sides

Ch:3 choosing sides.

:}

Tori would spend her weekend doing the normal things, Party, get her homework done, then party some more. She also hung out with her friends, or rather, the friends she had left. She wanted spend time with all of them, to comfort Cat and help Andre deal with the stress of losing two people he considered close. Mostly, however, she wanted to spend some time with Beck. Despite her best efforts, spending every moment she could spare with her friends, opening her home for them to hang out and play cards, she never laid eyes on Beck. Apparently he was out, dating and living it up. Or as Trina had called it, compensating. "Remember, a lot of what he's doing, to his mind, is getting even. To him, nothing he does now is serious. It's just, you know, fun. And probably to hurt Jade." Trina had explained. "Most likely to show Jade he can do it too." Tori didn't want to know how she knew any of that, and just assumed she'd been watching Doctor Phil.

So instead of spending time helping Beck find his way back, she got to be there for Andre and Cat. They both needed someone to listen, and Tori found herself playing Doctor Phil.

Andre was worried about Beck's actions. He spent a fair amount of time explaining why. It was more then just the change in Beck's character, though that did grate on Andre, since the musician was generally honest. Andre was also worried about Beck not listening to his advice. Beck was partying with Northridge girls, and didn't have a clue about the real risks. "Funny when getting a girl pregnant isn't the worst thing that can happen." The musician had said. "Even if he uses protection, avoids whatever diseases these girls might be carrying, he's messing with Northridge Girls. And if you're messing with Nothrige girls, that means your also dealing with the Northridge boys. Some of them might not be too happy with Beck scoring on their girls." Tori tried to offer what support she could without holding his hand, since to her mind any show of affection while he was so worked up could easily be misinterpreted. "Then there's the question of what happens when he breaks hearts. Not every girl is just going to go away, and some of them have brothers tougher then the inmates in a Yerbainian prison. Man, Tor, I'm really worried about him. Even players need to live by rules." Andre made Tori worry, and she began to feel helpless, unable to do anything to save Beck from himself.

To make things worse, Cat was depressed, needing to talk with Tori or Andre so she didn't feel so worthless. While she still didn't seem to want Robbie for herself, she hated the idea that, for whatever reason, Jade could have slept with him. "She knew I was kinda, maybe interested in him." Cat had explained. Tori soon found out she hadn't been Cat's only source of comfort in the past. Now, with both Jade and Robbie out of the group, Tori discovered she made up one hundred percent of Cat's support and comfort. Apparently Sam wasn't big on giving consolation, and her Nona was "Too old to understand. I mean, did they even have sex back when she was my age?"

Still, between parties, Tori did what she could to help pull Cat out of her depression. They even did an episode of 'The Funny Nugget Show,' indulging in the shows big secret, booze. As Tori had once written in her diary, 'It's always funny how no one figures it out. Cat and I are just happy drunks. Once we hit that sweet spot, we can do the show and seem to be out of, claim it's due to sleep deprivation, and they buy it. Trust me, it's the booze, and occasionally some weed. I keep Cat away from the hard stuff.' It was their loose secret that no one seemed willing to disbelieve. The advantage of the good girls. That, and Trina knowing how to hide the bottles.

Monday came, and the new dynamic was beginning to take shape. Everyone was watching to see who gave who a ride. But Robbie had ridden his bike to school. After the whole Jade thing blew up, no one wanted to give him a ride.

Jade, however, was alone. She came to school alone, and once there people avoided her. It looked to Tori like no one wanted to be too close. She, like everyone else, had assumed assumed Jade would be looking for a fight. Even the faculty made that assumption. Lane intercepted Jade on her way into the school and spoke with her Monday morning, just like he would speak to her every day that week. Few students seemed placated. There was the belief that, despite the guidance counselors best efforts, there was going to be trouble before things blew over.

As the Monday progressed, it seemed that everyone had chosen sides. Or more specifically, they'd chosen Beck's side. Even Sinjin, who had held a torch for Jade forever, chose Beck's side, but only because the two were already becoming friends. Of course, Burf stayed with Sinjin, and chose Beck's side as well. As for the gang, they all seemed to rally around the "Victim," Beck, not believing Jade or Robbie for a second. Still, the pair both held strong to their protests that nothing happened.

Robbie soon discovered he wasn't alone either. It only took a day or two, but he found himself hanging with some people who wanted to be his friends. Sure, they were mostly made up of guys who admired him for tagging Jade, losers and geeks who made Sinjin seem suave. There were also a couple of girls who wanted to be close to someone willing to take that dangerous ride, but mostly the nerdy boy was surrounded by losers who admired him for doing what they only dreamed of doing.

Things quickly settled into their new patterns, and Jade was the odd woman out. Trina may have sympathy for her, but wouldn't risk being a social outcast by sitting with her during lunch. The others, Jade's critics, the one who stayed hidden within the crowds at school, continued to speak behind Jade's back. They continued to tell each other how wrong what she did was, or that they'd lost what respect they'd had for her for what, and who, she'd done. But the final nail in the coffin that was Jade's social life the fear she'd worked so hard to foster. The fear that hadn't really gone away. It seemed no one was willing to draw fire approaching the girl. Not when the only reward was to be the first to die when Jade finally snapped. Jade was functionally isolated, alone in the crowd.

As the stress within the school mounted, Tori found she wanted answers. More specifically, she wanted one of the outcasts to admit what they'd done, how wrong it was, and then beg for forgiveness. Then, she felt, she might be able to forgive Robbie, and let him back into her friendship. Tori saw Jade as a lost cause. She was sure Jade was out of the group forever. Tori wasn't sure why, but Jade's betrayal of Beck hurt, and she couldn't seem to find any forgiveness for the dark-hearted girl.

Tori didn't get a chance to talk with Robbie until Tuesday. The group was still ostracizing Jade, and by extension Robbie, so the unwritten rules of school interactions said she couldn't approach either, not even for an explanations. But there were exceptions. Tori was allowed to talk with either for school related purposes, and Tori had study hall with Robbie. So that day, in class, Tori decided she could get her answers. She hoped that by the end of the day, she'd be one step closer to starting to bring the nerdy boy back, assuming he capitulated. She would just wait for her chance, and since no one would see her, or if they did they'd assume it was for a class assignment, she wouldn't break any of the unwritten social rules that said don't talk to him. In Study hall, Tori knew she could approach him without being seen as breaking the social rules against it. It was time for Tori to get some answers.

"So, Robbie, I know Jade has threatened to kill you if you talk, but you can't go through life afraid of her. Tell me the truth. How did you wind up wearing Jade's shirt." Tori said after cornering him in a back room off the library. She wanted her answers, even though she was sure she wouldn't like it once she knew the truth.

"I told you, It's my sisters shirt. I think she got it on line." Robbie said. The last line sounded a bit fake. He then continued with "It's not fair, getting on Jade's case like this. She does one nice thing for me, and I mean like in the last year, and suddenly she's my mistress?"

"While I agree Robbie would have to pay to get a woman to touch him, Jade would be too expensive." Rex chimed in. "Sides, where's the scars that'd come from baby skin here playing rough with the mistress of the night."

'I can't believe he's defending her' Tori thought. Then she said "You know, Robbie, you could try and come up with a decent lie. I've met your sister, and she wouldn't be caught dead in a 'Suicidal bunnies' shirt. I mean, you could have said she left it at the laundromat, or anything like that, and it would have been more believable."

"Laundromat! My god! Why didn't I think of that?" Robbie exclaimed, slapping his head. The library echoed from his outburst, but no one except Tori understood, or cared about, what he just said. Everyone seemed willing to just ignore the outburst, including the librarian.

"So you admit it's her shirt?" Tori said.

"Tori, you're right, it's her shirt. And while there's a perfectly innocent reason I had access to that shirt, I can't tell you. Jade swore me to secrecy. The only thing I can tell you is I didn't sleep with her." Robbie emphasized.

"You know I'd be the first to brag if either of us got some of that fine tail, but believe you me, we didn't do nothing." Rex added.

"Then tell me how you wound up wearing that shirt?' Tori said.

"I can't." Robbie said, almost fearfully, before he extradited himself from where Tori had cornered him. Robbie quickly started to head back to the main study group for study hall, stopping only to add "I really did think it was my sisters shirt at the time." Then he was back in the class, and the talk was over. Tori knew she wasn't going to get any more out of him, and the struggle to keep him there for further questioning would draw the wrong type of attention.

'I'll give him until Friday to come clean.' Tori decided. 'If not, I'm getting my answers, one way or another. Oh yea, I'm so getting my answers. Then I can fix things, help Robbie earn his way back into the group. Jade, she's practically dead to us, but there has to be hope for one of them. As pathetic as Robbie is, he was my friend. I don't want to lose two friends. One was hard enough.' Tori really wanted things back to where they once were, with her friends hanging out, seeing big bones at the museum, and otherwise doing chiz together over the weekend, between the parties. 'It just feels so wrong to lose both of them, and someone has to admit they did wrong. I need one of them to admit it was wrong.' Tori had thought, but buried that under her need to fix things.

However, the school, as always, had it's own drama's to play out, and they'd bring their own ramifications. Tori knew no one no one would have the death wish required to say anything to Jade's face, still the goth was being ridiculed behind her back, and the word "Whore" had been written on her locker. As the week had moved towards Thursday, Tori would discover that the administration had, on multiple occasions over the week, deleted posts on the Slap. This was despite the websight being student run and supposedly outside the influence of the administration. The students who ran it told her that they felt it best to go along. Cyberbullying can lead to serious lawsuits. But one things was clear. Jade was being harassed, and the ones responsible hid behind whatever masks they could. By Wednesday someone even made a stencil of "Whore", and along with a can of spray paint marked Jade's locker almost as fast as the last one was removed.

By Thursday morning, the school seemed to have decided to forgive Robbie. Maybe they just weren't going to continue to hold him accountable, agreeing that whatever his sins, they paled in comparison to the falling of the ice queen. Or maybe the fact that people still liked him gave him some immunity. It didn't matter anymore. Robbie seemed to be off the hook, but everyone seemed ready, even eager, to continue to shame Jade. It was almost a sport now, baiting the bear, but staying out of range of it's claws.

Then Thursday, at lunch, Scotty Peirson finally crossed the line. It was just after the bell had rung and people were visiting their lockers to get whatever they needed. Jade was just finishing getting whatever from her once again tagged locker when he approached, backed up by two of his friends.

"Hay Jade, I'll give you Ten dollars for a blow job in the janitors closet." He called out in the middle of the hall. Jade turned to glare at him, so he continued. "Don't give me that. I know that's why you spend so much time in there."

"Walk away while you can." Jade forced out through clinched teeth.

"Don't be like that. It's ten dollars. Now that your reputations garbage, I assumed it was the going rate for a quicky." He pressed.

Not far away, Tori was at her own locker exchanging books and getting ready for lunch. She saw, and heard, the whole thing happening. And while she felt bad for Jade, didn't even think of helping. Jade had brought this on herself.

"Last warning. Walk away before you regret ever speaking to me." Jade warned. Tori would later remember that no one in the school had ever gotten to this point with Jade. They'd be too afraid of what the queen of revenge would do.

Scotty seemed emboldened by Jade's attempts at restraint. "And what are you going to do about it, slut. You know you like it. Heck, after Robbie, I should be charging you." He said as he stepped in on Jade. He'd cut off her main routs of escape, using his body to try and force her against her locker.

Jade snapped. She reached out, grabbing his shirt, and swept his legs as she shifted her weight to throw him back first against Robbie locker. Scotty hit with a loud thud, then slid down to the floor, stunned. There was a noticeable dent in Robbie's locker where his head had hit, and the nipples had broken of and fell to the floor. There was also a trickle of blood.

Lane and Helen chose that moment to show up. "Jade, please go to my office." Lane said. "Someone please help Mister Pierson to the nurses office." Students stood watching after Lane gave the orders.

"Now!" Helen said, just loud enough for her voice to seem to reverberate through the halls, and the students started moving. "And everyone else can go to lunch. I want this hall cleared now!" Students moved quickly, while Tori moved to pretend to help Scotty Pierson to the nurses office. Truthfully, she wanted to know what was going to happen. Once the students were gone, Helen joined Lane in his office. Tori moved to follow, 'just in case they needed a witness'. She knew a place, thanks to Trina, where she could overhear everything said in Lane's office, as long as the vents were open.

"Jade, I know you've been through a rough week, but we can't have you going around hurting students. I'm afraid we're going to have to punish you." Lane informed the goth. There was no trace of anger in his voice, just a sense of disappointment. Jade didn't say a word. She just watched as the school officials were getting ready to sentence her. She knew Scotty never touched her, so he would probably get off without as much as a warning.

"It can't be a slap on the wrist." Helen said. "That was assault. Maybe you can claim self defense, since he did invade your personal space, but it was still assault. We'll ask the police not to press charges."

Jade was shocked. It was the first time anyone had taken her side in living memory. "And what's my punishment?" She asked. Tori, listening in, knew It was probably best if the goth just took whatever they offered, since they were trying to be nice. As nice as the situation allowed.

"I think suspension." Lane said. When Jade looked at him, he quickly continued. "You can survive a few absentees, so it won't hurt your grades too much. And I think maybe you need to be away for this for a while. Give it time to blow over a bit. How about this. We arrange for your work to be delivered to you, and you miss the next six school days." It sounded reasonable, but Jade knew it wouldn't blow over in a week. Still, it was better than she deserved. As far as Jade and Tori knew, she should have been expelled.

"Okay." Jade said. "Out of curiosity, will Scotty be punished for what he was doing? It was bullying." then added mentally. 'Or more accurately, attempted suicide.'

"I don't think that's going to be appropriate." Lane said.

"If the security tapes prove he was bullying, I'll give him detention for a week, plus both Saturdays." Helen said. Lane looked at her. "Bullying leads to all kinds of problems, and the bullies almost never get punished. Better to stop this now, before there's a shooting at Hollywood Arts."

"But Jade's a bully." Lane said, trying not to be herd by the goth. Hidden in her spot, Tori mentally agreed with the guidance counselor.

"But she doesn't do it as much as the real ones, and targets more stable individuals. She targets those who can take it." Helen said. "Plus, I think a solid policy against bullying will help her to stop as well."

That was were Tori bowed out. Jade was getting off far too easily. The Latina stopped by the nurses office, and learned that Scotty probably had a concussion. Jade had made her point. Mess with her, and get hurt. Tori wasn't happy about any of this. Now she found herself taking Scotty Peirson's side, and he was scum. 'Who else propositions a girl in the main hallway?'

Jade left before lunch was over. Meanwhile, Tori was looking to speak to Beck. She found him at their usual lunch table with Cat, Andre and Sinjin. Today there wasn't the occasional girl trying to fill in the open space in the group. Tori quickly ate her lunch while the others talked about what a psycho Jade had become. Only Andre seemed uncomfortable with talking about Jade. 'He had a crush on her once.' Tori reminded herself. 'This has to be hard on him.'

"Um, Beck? I was wondering if we could talk?" Tori asked.

"We are talking." He said, smiling. "But if you want someplace more private, we could talk in the janitors closet." Smooth as ever, he managed to make it sound innocent.

"Actually, this could take some time, and I don't want to miss class. Maybe you could drop by my place, about five thirty?" Tori said

"You mean like hanging out, or like a date?" Beck asked.

"Lets just talk for now, okay?" She replied, looking at the ground and blushing just a bit.

"Five thirty, got it. I'll see you later then." Beck said as he started drifting towards class.

"See ya." Tori said back. It felt wrong, but at the same time like something she had to do. Beck was too good a guy to be pining over Jade.

The rest of the school day dragged by. Everyone was too preoccupied with how Jade finally snapped to concentrate on their work. One teacher gave up half way though their lesson, and held a discussion about the whole Jade situation. The conclusion they came up with, don't poke the bear. Especially when it's angry.

Later that day, Tori was home waiting for Beck to arrive. She'd asked Trina to be there, so that no matter what, she would have someone to keep her focused. She wasn't promiscuous by nature, but Beck was so handsome and charismatic. It was best not to give temptation a chance. Not yet.

But Tori was ready for Beck. After rushing home, Tori had showered and dressed nicely, choosing a dress instead of her usual jeans and top. The singer was pacing, waiting for him to arrive. She was waiting to see what kind of relationship she was going to have with Beck in the weeks to come. Summer was coming, and Tori wanted to know where she stood.

More importantly, if she was going to date Beck, she needed to figure out how to handle Jade. In the past, Jade was cool with the possibility of Tori and Beck dating. Of course, that was before the two had gotten back together again, and back when Jade was their friend. Now Jade was the Jezebel who had betrayed Beck with one of his friends. And she was dangerous. Tori got lost for a moment, flashing back to that split second where Jade had thrown Scotty Peirson into the locker. Jade was surprisingly strong... A knock at the door took her out of her thoughts, though what thoughts she wasn't quite sure.

:}

Not quite happy with how this chapter came out. It just flows wrong, the tempo. But I hope you like it anyways. Please remember, there's more then two sides to any situation, especially when rumors and status are involved. Just look at any celebrity who gets tangentially involved in a scandal. Some people will defend them to the end of the earth, s were waiting for the chance to tear them down.

So, review ans tell me what you think. I'm thinking there has to be something if Jade's putting up with this. Next time, less violence.

Oh yea, don't poke the bear.


	4. Chapter 4 to date or not to date

Disclaimer: Several characters in this story will be acting out, sometimes driven by emotions they don't understand, or even recognize. They may be OOC for some time, but I hope to have them back eventually. Sorry, this warning should have been on Chapter one, two at the latest.

:}

Beck stood there in the doorway. He hadn't changed from school, but still had the kind of handsome looks that sometimes transcended cloths. Tori was aware of how attracted to him she was.

"Beck, glad to see you. I know this could have been handled over the phone, but I felt that, given the personal nature of the conversation, it would be best if it was face to face." Tori said.

"Okay, what're we talking about?" He asked.

"I've heard you're hurting. I think, maybe, if we date, we'll need to talk it out first. I just want to know what kind of relationship we're going to have, and I don't want to be a conquest." Tori said, walking back towards the couches.

"Tori, I'd never treat you like that. I don't..." Beck started, but his voice faded out. He stood there, looking at Tori for a few seconds, trying to make his mind work. It was as if something had just occurred to him, and it seemed to take his thoughts away. Words had always been so easy for him, but he just couldn't make his voice work. "I'm sorry." He finally said.

"For what?" Tori looked confused.

"I've had sex with five girls in the last week, since the whole thing with Jade." Beck confessed as he walked up to the closest couch section and sat down hard. He seemed to deflate. "My god, what have I been doing?" He was on the verge of tears. "T-Tori, what am I becoming?"

"I don't know what to say? I know you've been hurting, and that if you'd wanted to, there were a lot of girls who'd love to be there for you, even if it was for one night." Tori told him, moving to sit on the same couch as Beck. She put her hand on his shoulder. "Beck, I'm here for you. I'd like to know if we're friends, or maybe something more. Either way, I'm not planning on sleeping with you." He chuckled, finding something to laugh at in the pain of his sudden realization. Tori wondered if this was an act, or if Beck was disgusted with himself for sleeping around.

"He should probably see someone, get tested." Drifted from her fathers office, making Tori flinch. Tori was grateful it was just Trina, who had been listening in at her request. She didn't want to have this discussion while her father was here.

Beck had jumped at the sound of Trina's voice. Now standing, his heart poun ding, he looked around trying to see where Trina was. The elder sister hadn't bothered to enter the room. "Oh my GOD!" Beck screeched.

"Relax, she's the one who told me you were probably screwing around." Tori said, trying hard not to laugh. "I think she's right. Before we get to far, I think we should both get tested. That way, neither of us will be judged." Tori flashed her best smile, and Beck calmed down, just a bit.

"Okay, we'll get tested tomorrow after school. Funny way to spend our first date." He smiled weakly.

"Yea, about that. I want to date, but we should take it slow. I don't want to take advantage of you either. When we are a couple, I want it to be for the right reasons." Tori told him. The actor smiled and nodded.

"So, what did you hear about Sikowitz's big part?" Beck asked. It was obvious he was changing the subject, so Tori let him. They would have a pleasant conversation for the rest of the evening, talking about schoolwork, current events, what the faculty at school was doing, anything that wasn't about Jade. He needed the distraction. Trina eventually joined them, and while she added to the conversation, was unusually quiet.

Later, after Beck had gone home, as the girls were getting ready for bed, Trina took the chance to ask her sister a question. "Tori, are you hoping to date Beck because you want him, or because you're afraid he'll go back to Jade if you don't?" Trina didn't wait for an answer, instead going to bed. Friday was coming, and she had a full day of getting invited to parties ahead of her.

By the end of Friday, everyone in the school knew Tori was with Beck. They were acting like a couple. Sitting together, holding hands, and laughing. It wasn't intentional, at least not on Tori's part, she just felt she needed to be there for him. And maybe they weren't actually dating, but to the school gossip mill they might as well have been sleeping together. And the comments on the slap reflected that belief. And the school was all abuzz with the possibilities, because whatever was on the slap, Jade knew.

After school Tori and Beck went to the hospital to get tested. Originally they were going to go to Planned Parenthood, but both agreed that they didn't need to be judged for things they hadn't done. Instead, they went to the hospital, where they could be there for any one of a hundred reasons. It took over an hour, and was as date like as could be expected. They talked as they waited, and in time they managed to admit things they didn't usually tell friends. Tori's first time was with Danny, while Beck's first time was with some girl named Darcy, who he'd dated before Jade entered the picture. "And no, Darcy wasn't the girl Jade threw into the lake" Beck told her. It was an awkward wait, but finally a nurse took them back to have their blood drawn. They'd get their results by Monday, and both opted for email alerts.

That night, they decided to do a proper date, and caught a movie. They both felt like something light, and the late night showings of childrens films were where adults got to see the films without the sounds children far too often make in the theater. Afterwords, they went to get food. It was casual, two good friends trying to bridge the gap between friendship and relationship. Tori enjoyed the comfort and feelings of safety she had with the boy. It was still early, they hadn't committed to any real relationship yet, but Tori was happy to spend some time with Beck.

Saturday morning Tori got a call from Andre. "Yo Chiquita, whats up?" The musician started.

"Hey Andre. Good Morning. Whats with the early call?" Tori asked.

"Just checking on you. Making sure nothing mysterious had happened." Andre smiled, and she could hear it in his voice. But while his statement may have sounded like a joke, under the surface he was deadly serious.

"Nope, I'm fine, just a little tired from the early call." Tori said.

"So you missed a pretty good par-tay last night." Andre said.

"Yea, I wasn't in the mood to go to some Nothridge party. I hope you guys had fun." Tori had gotten back from her date with Beck early enough that she could have caught the majority of the party. She didn't go because she was worried that she might run into Jade. No reason to risk anything before she and Beck made a decision about their future.

"Don't worry, we did fine. Soooo, you and Beck?" Andre asked.

"We're still just friends. I just wanted to comfort him. You know he's going through a lot right now." Tori wanted to say more, but didn't have anything else to add. She'd told Andre the truth, as she knew it.

"Look, I understand that Beck's going through a lot, and I'm as worried about him as anyone. It's you I'm concerned about now. Jade still reads the slap. By now, she knows the rumors, seen the pictures. And Tori, it looks like you're with Beck." The musician said.

"We're just friends." Tori emphasized as she opened her laptop and logged onto the slap. It took her moments to find the pictures.

"Just be careful, okay. I don't want anything to happen to either of you." Andre's concern was touching. Tori wanted to assure him that everything was okay, but she saw the pictures. Over a dozen pictures of her and Beck, and it looked like they were a couple in all of them.

"Andre, I have to go. I need to talk to Beck." Tori started.

"Give him some time. He was at the party last night, and I'm not sure if he's alone right now." Andre's statement broke Tori's heart. She'd stayed home after their date, but he apparently hadn't.

Two hours later, Tori had reached her breaking point. Knowing that confronting Beck right now could only hurt the friendship, Tori instead had waited for Trina to get up. Her sister had been on another date, and had probably gone to a party after since her dates usually didn't last that long. Finally, Trina walked down the stairs, and Tori pounced.

"Do you think I was moving too fast?" Tori asked.

"Why do you ask?" Trina said. "Is this about the pictures on the slap?"

"And the party I didn't go to last night. Beck still went, and may have picked up some slut." Tori's voice started to break.

"My god, is this what it's like to date Beck?" Trina asked. "Unable to trust him, or have him out on his own. Always afraid that if you do one of the legions of girls out there, plotting, might snatch him away.. Worried that some slut will have her one night with him." There was something more unsaid that Trina just let drop. She shifted to look at her sister, "Or maybe you should call him. It's possible he want to the party, and then went home alone."

Tori looked at her sister. She didn't know what to say, but decided it was probably a good idea to call Beck and see what happened. If she didn't judge him, then they could remain friends if he wasn't ready to stop sleeping around.

Again, she never got the chance. Beck called while she was making up her mind. "Tori, good morning. I just wanted to see if you'd seen the pictures on the slap?"

"I have, and I heard about the party you went to. I don't want to know if you did anything, just if you're ready to have a relationship." She asked him. "I mean, last night didn't have to mean anything."

"I went, hardly drank, and acted as wing-man for Sinjin and Burf. I didn't do anything more than dance with a couple of girls. I know it's hard to believe, but I'm not going to sleep with anyone until I'm back in a stable relationship. I just work better that way." Beck reassured her. "You can ask Sinjin. I gave him a ride home."

"I don't have to." Tori said, sounding relieved. She wished it was because she believed him, but it really was because Sinjin wasn't a good liar. Beck's alibi would hold.

They chatted about stuff for a while, like their kinda date, and worried about their test. Tori had almost nothing to worry about. She didn't sleep around. Beck was far more worried. Not only could he have caught something from the Northridge girls, he could have caught all kinds of things from Jade. It made him reluctant to party. "I wish I didn't have to worry about what Jade might have given me, but it would be stupid not to, you know?" He said.

Instead of going to some party, they agreed to go on another date. To keep Tori feeling safe, he agreed to take her someplace Jade wasn't likely to go. "I'll pick you up around five, and we'll go get dinner and maybe some baby golf. From there, maybe we see a movie." Beck had proposed. It was a nice plan, and Tori felt good about it.

She spent the rest of the morning doing her homework. She didn't like having it hanging over her. Usually, she'd get it done before Saturday night so her parents would be more likely to accept her going out. That theory worked as long as she ignored how Trina did things. Her sister didn't ask about going out, she just went, and their parents didn't seem to care. Tori always asked, and her parents always said yes. As long as Tori could convince herself it was because she'd finished her homework, she felt almost cared about.

By five o'clock, Tori was ready to go. She'd wondered how late the date was planned for, thinking that maybe she could sneak over to a party one of her friends from Sherwood told her about. It wasn't likely anyone from Hollywood Arts would be there, and Tori felt she'd earned some partying. Her homework was done, Beck was coming to go out on a healthy date and Trina knew someone loved her. "Treen, you know I love you, right?" She'd asked. Tori made sure that, every once in a while, she told her sister she loved her. It was her normal, considering she couldn't remember the last time their parents had said it to either one of them.

Beck was punctual, arriving just before five. They exchanged pleasantries and took in how each other looked. Beck hadn't dressed up too much, continuing with his normal look. Tori, by contrast, had dressed up a bit. She was out to impress, while Beck was trying to keep things casual. Tori appreciated it.

Despite her intent to keep things light, Tori found herself wondering about Becks conquests. Last night had been casual, but this was technically a second date. It was time to start opening up about serious stuff. Tori decided to hold back, let Beck rebuild trust. He'd been hurt, and probably wasn't ready for anything too serious.

They'd gone to this takeout truck for dinner. Somehow Beck knew about every one of those food trucks, and he seemed to be up on what was best, or worse, at each one. They enjoyed the fajita's out of the truck, and talked about nothing as they sat on the sidewalk. Quickly 'nothing' turned towards Becks recent past.

"I-I really didn't know what I was doing. I mean, I was with these girls without thinking about what I was doing. I just kept thinking about how many men Jade had been with. The thought of her with other men, with Robbie, was just too much for me. I felt that I had to get even, make up for all the times she cheated on me." Beck confessed. It was painful, but Tori reasoned he needed to talk to someone.

"It's okay, Beck. You were hurting, and they were one way you tried to take away the pain. I understand. That's all over now. It is over, right?" Tori sounded concerned, but was worried that she was coming off too much like a friend. Maybe she should have scolded him for his actions, but Trina had warned her this might happen, so she kinda understood. 'Should I be worried about his behavior? I don't think I am, and I think I should be.' Tori's thoughts didn't interrupt the close attention she was paying to her Canadian friends concerns.

"I just hope that it's over now. Only it's never over. Tori, I never wanted to be one of those guys. The ones who sleep around without thinking about the consequences. It's too easy, and I hate easy. I need complicated, something to challenge me." Beck was telling her.

"It might get complicated anyways." Tori told him, desperately thinking of how she could change the topic. She didn't need her second real date with Beck to be this heavy. Tori sent her sister a text just to ease her mind.

Trina (From Tori) – How likely is it for a random unprotected hookup to get result in pregnancy? Beck wants to know.

Tori managed to send the text while holding her phone just out of eye line, but kept her eyes on Beck. "Please, Beck, we need to find a way for you to let this go. Monday we'll know if you got some kind of Northrige based disease, and once cleared of that, you can put this all behind you. We need to look towards the future." Tori was trying to give a pep talk, but it felt wrong.

"You mean, how do we deal with Jade? I don't think it's going to be our problem. Jade's out of the group, and I think she's got her own problems to deal with." Beck said. He didn't sound upset. If anything, he was sounding almost angry. Jade was obviously still a painful subject to the actor.

"Yea, that's another thing. Jade lives for revenge. Do you think she's gonna want to hurt you, us, for spreading those rumors?" Tori was more scared than before. Jade was dangerous. Scotty Pierson had a concussion from one throw. No telling what she'd do to the one responsible for those rumors, or the person he was dating.

"I'm not worried about Jade. I'm more worried about myself. I don't feel guilty about telling people her secrets. I know I should, that a decent person should feel bad about the damage I've done to Jade's reputation. But I don't, and it worries me." His gaze lingered on the street. "What did she do to me, if this is what I'm capable of. I never thought I could so casually..." His voice faded.

Tori was feeling a little more worried about Beck now. 'He's obviously torn up about what Jade did. How do I help him out of this depression? I just want him to be happy, right?' Her thoughts were broken by a text from her sister.

Tori (From Trina) – According to on line, about 2.5% per encounter, so overall less than ten percent chance that Beck has an extra problem. Don't sleep with him.

Tori smiled at her sisters warning. Trina really did look after her, even when their parents ignored them both. Trina was the one who needed what Tori had, friends who cared. Of course, Tori had no idea who Trina's friends were. She knew that her sister had friends, and that every girl Trina claimed to be friends with didn't particularly like her, but Trina had people who she hung out with. Tori wondered if they should look after each other more, deciding she didn't have the time. Her friends needed too much looking after. Beck needed too much looking after.

Trina (From Tori) – Going to a party after the date, wanna come?

Beck had been quiet for almost a minute, and that worried Tori. The actor was sounding lost, and Tori could understand why. Beck had always pictured himself as better than the guys who were out for a cheap thrill. Beck had been in a long term relationship with a girl who was hard to please for over three years, and he was used to being in a relationship. Sex in a relationship is about Trust, growing together, as well as satisfying whatever lust you might be feeling.

"You know what the worst part of this is?" Beck asked, out of the blue. Tori had been hoping that the conversation could get back to being light, care free attempts to impress each other. They were on a date, and she wanted it to be like any other date. It wasn't going to happen, and Tori knew why. She'd known Beck for over a year, and so she knew most of the things she'd learn on a second date anyways. Beck's 'I have no secrets' policy had made it easy to learn about him in the conversations they'd previously had.

"You expect me to answer, don't you?" Tori replied. She smiled, but honestly her main concern was slipping from being a good friend to being a good date, and this wasn't something successful dates talked about.

"Jade never cheated on me before. Even when we broke up, with the exception of Moose, she didn't date. Jade wasn't like most jealous girls, looking for their next relationship while freaking out about anyone I might look at. Jade stayed loyal to me, until she decided that she needed the money that badly." Beck sounded hurt. His head suddenly snapped up, and he caught Tori's eyes. "Her finances have been improving for a while now. Do you think she's been sleeping around for... Oh my god." His head slumped back down.

Tori decided this date was now officially a failure. Despite that, she felt that maybe they should continue, in case the baby golf helped improve Becks spirits. 'He's still too caught up in Jade. If I'm a good friend, I tell him to drop it. If I'm a good potential girlfriend, I tell him to get over her.' Tori thought as she got up and offered Beck her hand. "Baby Golf?"

"Yea, okay. Sorry. I didn't mean to get lost in my pain. It's just, you've been such a good friend, and I feel like I could talk to you about anything. Sorry, I didn't intend Jade to be the main subject." Beck sounded sincere, but Tori wasn't that easily swayed. She felt the pull, the attraction, even that spark, but it just didn't move her the way it might have.

They spent the rest of the date having fun. Tori didn't try to make anything more out of it than two friends hanging out, while Beck relaxed and just enjoyed the company. By the time Beck dropped her off, he was feeling much better.

"Tori, I just wanted to thank you. I had a wonderful night. And I'm sorry. I'm not over Jade yet. I know it's over. I burned that bridge when I told people about her family. I just... I need some time. If you're interested, once I'm ready, one I'm me again, then maybe we'll see. For now, I think I just needed a good friend. Thank you again." He gave her that smile of his, and she felt her knees give just a little. But at the same time, she knew that was just lust, the need to be with someone that hot.

"I understand. Thank you for being honest. You think the gang will understand?" Tori said.

"Maybe. I'll text them later, maybe post it on the slap." Beck said.

"Wait, maybe you shouldn't. Lets pretend to be in a relationship, so you can have time to heal. I'm not dating anyone anyways, and if I meet someone, then we can decide if we want to keep the charade up or not. I think it's be better for us." Tori said, smiling. She had no idea why it felt so important to keep up the illusion, but she knew she had to.

"Thanks, Tor. You're really looking out for me." He said, then he hugged her, and once they were apart again, he turned to go home.

Tori watched him walk to his car, get in, and drive away. 'Why didn't you invite him to the party? He could use some more fun? Oh yea, because these are my friends from Sherwood, and I don't want to share them.' Tori thought to herself.

:}

For those of you looking for Bori, here you go. Beck just isn't ready to be in a relationship yet. He's starting to find himself again, and he knows what he did to Jade was too much. You will see him finding himself more as time goes on. Now, how long until Tori realizes she's lost herself too. Her, Jade, and who knows who else, they just haven't been themselves. (Warning, snark alert) You'd almost think there's a reason for it. Like going through a major emotional crisis. We know what Beck's is, but how about everyone else? Lets see who is the next to start to find their way back.

I use the term "Burned that bridge" a lot, don't I. Review. Let me know your opinion on burning bridges.

Next time, someone does something, and there are consequences.


	5. Chapter 5 who's that at the party

Disclaimer: Don't own the source material.

Warning, Jade may be OOC in this chapter, even though she's not in this chapter. Read it, and you'll see.

:}

By the time Tori got home, Trina was ready to go, her dress showing off her cleavage in the most flattering way possible. Tori took the time to quickly change into something more appropriate for the party, a tight blouse and skinny jeans. Tori touched up her hair and makeup, and she was ready to go. As she made her way back down stairs and towards the door, Trina handed her a roll of condoms.

"Just in case, little sister. We need to think about our futures." It was Trina's standard thing before heading to any party. She always packed condoms "just in case." Of course, it went with her philosophy on getting drunk. Trina was out to have fun, but had no intention of anything ruining her chances at future stardom. She still held out the possibility of hooking up with some hot guy, so she always had condoms.

Before they fully knew it, they were at the party. It was a short drive, then another five minutes to find parking. Once that was done, as they covered the distance to the front door, Tori went over her list of people she would trust with her life, reminding her sister of who at the party they could rely on. They both knew these were the people to find and hang out with for the night. These were the people they could get drunk with, and who would make sure they didn't fall for some pretty boys crap.

Once in the party, the first thing they did was scope the place out. Not having planned on meeting up with anyone, they had to see who was there and what was going on. It took them another ten minutes to go through the whole house, seeing what was there and what was going on in each room. The living room was where their hosts had set up the dance floor, and the music was loudest there. Other rooms had speakers, but turned down enough for people to talk. The hosts parents, people Tori and her family had known for years, were out, leaving their son free to host the party. Naturally, alcohol was everywhere, and they'd found the room dedicated to Pot. Stronger drugs weren't officially being used. Anyone on them had to find an out of the way place to get high before rejoining the party, but everyone knew people were doing just that.

As soon as they were done scoping the party out, Trina found some kids she'd gone to school with before Hollywood Arts. Naturally, the Spanish speakers wanted to talk to Trina about her roll on her show, ¡Divertisimo!. It was fun to see them, but Tori could only listen to the same stories, no matter how recent, so many times before she was done. Tori soon drifted away to some of her old friend. A few who she trusted were here, and she knew enough about the family to be fairly safe in this place. She knew where she could crash if she had to, someplace where most of the party goers wouldn't think to look, and she'd be safely out of the way. Once she had her precautions in place she relaxed, got a little drunk, and enjoyed herself.

That was until about an hour later when she saw Robbie. The awkward boy was wandering among the crowds, drink in hand, but Rex no where in sight. He was good looking enough to draw attention from the girls, and since none of them knew his history, he was dealing with a fair amount of female attention. This was a rare situation for the puppeteer.

It took Tori several second to recognize him beyond the "I know that Guy" stage. The way he was dressed was too sharp, too casual. It was like he one day opened his eyes and realized that while the way he normally dressed was okay, there were ways to dress himself that would flatter his better features while hiding flaws. He was wearing his glasses, but managed to do so in a way that looked more cool and less dorkish, like he was comfortable with them. It almost seemed like he started there, and built his outfit around that feature.

Then there was the attitude. Robbie was relaxed, not taking anything too seriously, but at the same time showing an unusual level of confidence. Tori had to admit, it was as much his lack of confidence as his weird ways that kept girls away. But tonight he was relaxed, not letting anything he said or did discourage him. He approached a girl, spoke with her, and moved on if she didn't show interested. That alone drew the attention of several girls, impressed by how easily he entered and left conversations. They'd been watching as he approached, and then and he left, rating his looks, confidence, and obvious easy humor. As he moved on, several seemed to have second thoughts, some even following him so as to possibly have a second chance to talk to him. The result was he was now in the center of a group of pretty girls all vying for a chance to get to know this good looking newcomer to their world. Tori realized Robbie was on the prowl, letting each girl know he was looking for something longer term then this night, all without limiting his options.

It would have taken someone who knew the boy really well, say a close personal friend, to see the hint of nerves hidden just under the surface. But like the good actor he was, Robbie pushed past it and played this part to perfection. Tori knew that if getting laid was his goal, he'd already found multiple potential partners willing to fuck his brains out. There were several girls chatting him up who were, to Tori, obviously willing, even inviting him to try them.

Normally, if anything of what she was seeing could ever be called normal, Tori would let him be. Perhaps she might even root for her friend, except for two things. First, one of the girls around him, probably the prettiest, was one of Tori's friends from Sherwood. Tori would want to make sure she wasn't being played before letting any newcomer this smooth waltz in and seduce her. The second was Tori suddenly realizing she'd never gotten that answer she'd wanted from him. 'I gave him until Friday, and look, it's Saturday. Past time to get me some answers.' She'd thought. Now, fueled by her anger at Jade, Tori found his refusal to admit what he'd done was wrong was wazzing her off to no end. 'I just want him to stop lying to protect her. He should just admit that sleeping with Jade was wrong, even if she needed the money and came on to him. You don't do that to a friend.' Tori found she desperately wanted, needed, the nerdy boy to confess. And he had to do it of his own volition. Only now he was a target of opportunity, with something to lose, so it was time to find out what he was hiding.

Tori detached from the guys hanging out with her, including Danny. 'There was a time I'd have included him in the list of people I'd trust with my life.' She thought with just a tinge of regret, but couldn't stay focused on him. Part of the it was his new girlfriend, someone Tori liked. But mostly the singer needed to stay focused. Tori was on a mission. It took her seconds to reach the group, another second to push past the girls who wanted to try the tasty new guy, as well as the few guys there to make sure the girls didn't get themselves a taste, and then Tori was face to face with Robbie.

"Robbie, nice to see you without Rex. Where's the puppet?" She asked. Before he could form an answer, she spoke up so the gathered crowd could hear over the music. "I'm glad you've finally grown enough to face the world without your puppet. Seriously, he usually takes it everywhere." She addressed the group, as if filling in context.

And just like that, his cool factor was gone. A couple of the girls took that as a reason to move on, with the guys followed the girls. Robbie was no longer the threat they'd once seen him as. They felt safer, surer that the girls they'd mentally laid claim to weren't going to go with the formally cool new guy. However Tori's friend Cece, along with a few others, stuck around to see what was going on. They'd seen more then one jealous girlfriend say nasty things to get their boy alone. Then there were the ones who wanted to see if he was worth fighting for, and others who were hoping for the drama to explode. Hollywood Arts wasn't the only school where nasty bit of drama was functionally entertainment. What was left of his admirers stepped back to give them some room, but stayed close enough to hear whatever was about to be said.

Tori looked to make sure Cece was gone, but the girl had stayed close. Cece was an attractive natural redhead about half an inch shorted than Tori. An aspiring model, Cece had the looks if not the height, with a lingerie models build. Convinced of her own beauty, Cece had developed a bit of an attitude since she and Tori first became friends. Still, she was one of the people Tori cared enough to worry about. Trina's opinion of the girl was summed up when the older Vega bet she'd be pregnant by twenty.

"Tori! Was that really necessary?" Robbie whined as people shifted places, most going back to the party to find a new potential romance. His reversion to his old self did drive a few more girls away.

"It is if you don't tell me the truth. Why did you sleep with Jade?" Tori asked. Cece seemed to take the news of his apparent conquest without any reaction. Instead, she watched the impending confrontation, hoping to gain some valuable insights that she could use. Others in the audience shifted away, while those looking for drama were giving their rapt attention.

"I didn't. Why won't anyone believe me? And now this party's ruined." He whined the last part. His mood was souring quickly. "I can't strike out again." He now sounded deflated, defeated. Of course, with this new revelation,. the last of the would be daters, save Cece, departed. Half of the others left too, seeing this as more of a lecture then a fight.

"Why not?" Tori asked. She briefly thought about asking more, like if Rex was taunting him for paying for companionship, but didn't get the chance. The boy answered quickly, and broke her chain of thoughts.

"Jade said I..." His hand was over his mouth in an instant, and Tori had to know more. This wasn't sure what she expected, but that wasn't it. So she grabbed Robbie to pull him outside. She needed privacy for him to open up, distance from the crowd. And if this was as good as she thought it might be, then the crowd would grow again. Tori needed him to open up, to talk to her, and that meant discretion.

'No way I'm being seen pulling him into one of the rooms.' Tori thought, as she chose her destination. She didn't want anyone thinking she'd slept with a guy who carried a puppet around. Glancing back, she saw had Cece decided to follow, staying back enough to give the impression she wasn't listening in. Tori knew Cece loved gossip, and this had the makings of something good. Thankfully, no one else was invested in Tori's life enough to want to follow.

Once outside, Tori pulled him just far enough from the house where they could talk without being overheard, but were still very visible to anyone who looked. Tori chose that spot, the whole being seen tasking but nothing more, to protect her reputation. These were her friends, after all, and they weren't going to see her as having done anything she didn't actually do. She didn't need them thinking she was into Robbie, especially when she may have to kill him. 'I wonder, could I hide the body in Shadow creek Park? I don't know that area, but I'm guessing it's a pretty good place to hide bodies. How many has Jade hidden there?' Tori shook her head. 'Back to business.'

"Okay Robbie, spill. I can make it so you never have another date, or I can introduce you to half the girls in this party. Start talking. What was that about Jade you were spouting just now? Why did you have Jade''s shirt on that day? What's going on? Why haven't you answered my questions?" Tori asked in rapid succession.

"Tori, please, I can't tell you much. Jade lives near me, near enough that my sister was wearing her shirt. I didn't know it was hers when I took that picture. As for what Jade said, well, you see..." He was nervous. His eyes darted around, but whatever he was looking for wasn't there. It was almost like he expected Jade to somehow be watching, scissors in hand, ready to strike him down.

"Out with it." Tori wasn't feeling too patient. 'He lives near Jade? He knows what her house is like, right?' She couldn't ponder that too long, she needed to give him her attention when he spoke, cause he might not repeat whatever he was about to say.

"Jade told me to meet someone. I mean, she wants me to meet a girl. She thinks I need a girlfriend, said the rumors would stop if I had a girlfriend." The boy spat out. "She said, if I don't have some girls number when I get home tonight, she'll do something drastic to Rex. She has him now, and I need to win some girls affections if I'm ever going to see Rex again." Robbie was on the verge of crying.

Tori suspected he was holding something back, but there was a strong element of the truth in his story. Those were not fake tears, and Jade's way of getting people to do what she wanted often involved threats. Then there was the evidence, like the fact that he'd been using a relaxed, practiced approach, the kind he'd never really had. Someone had to have coached him. A lot. To the point where he didn't break character until Tori showed up, and he didn't let the potential one night stands distract him from the stated goal. Then there was the question of how he knew about the party. Tori was sure he didn't know anyone there, or who might have been invited, outside of herself and Trina. Someone would have to know how to find out about where parties were happening to have found this party, and that wasn't Robbie's strong point. He might have heard about it from another party, but that would again require a practiced smoothness he just didn't have. Finaly, Rex wouldn't miss a party, and the puppet was no where to be seen. So the whole thing about Jade wanting him to meet someone rang true.

But one piece was off. Jade told him that him having a girlfriend would kill the rumors about them. 'That just asn't true. Those people targeting Jade, harassing her, everything she deserves, they wouldn't stop even if Rob here walked in with a super model. There's more to this then he's telling. I don't know, maybe Jade sees herself as the most ruthless sexual segregate in the world?' Tori thought. She couldn't help the small smile that crept onto her lips.

"Okay, maybe I believe you, but why didn't she tell us that?" Tori asked.

"Would you have believed that? She wasn't lying, her father really doesn't want her friends dropping by. If I didn't live so close, he wouldn't allow me to ride in the same car as her. I don't think he likes me..." Robbie voice echoed a deep hurt. It wasn't something Tori wanted to get into, so she changed the subject. She'd want more from him in the future, so she figure it was best to pay up, just a little, now. He'd be more forthcoming once he knew she kept her word.

Turning to her friend, who'd listened in to the whole thing while pretending to check her phone, "Cece, this is Robbie. Yes, he has a puppet, and it's practically a person. But he's also a talented guitarist, singer, actor and song writer." She tried not to roll her eyes at the last part. "Robbie's worth dating, if you're willing to put up with Rex. Also, if you date him, don't you Dare Break his Heart, Clear!" Tori was doing her best intimidation, and it seemed to work on Cece. The redhead immediately agreed.

After that, Tori went back into the party, found someone she really trusted, and got wasted. She wanted to forget how angry Jade made her. Forcing Robbie to go to a party just to save her own reputation. Threatening Rex. Hurting Beck, She may have ruined Beck. Tori drank to forget Jade, and by the time she was done, she'd forgotten her own name. Unfortunately, she could still see that smirk on Jade's face.

:}

So, Robbie on the prowl. Who saw that coming? Wonder whats up with that. Guess you'll have to keep reading to find out.

So, thoughts? Reviews are a great way to let me know what your thinking. I know some of you have already figured out the first secret. What? There's more then one? Yep.


	6. Chapter 6 Tori's cold shoulder

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or it's characters. I make nothing from this.

:}

Tori woke up in her own bed. The advantage of having someone looking out for you. She'd forgotten how nice it could be to be able to trust someone with her life, or just as importantly, with her body. She was alone, she knew that, but still felt a compulsion to check. Sitting up quickly gave her a quick reminder that her head hurt and she'd drunk too much. Tori immediately checked the night stand, confirming that, once again, Trina had forgotten to leave her aspirin and water. No pain reliever to help combat her hangover hangover. 'But I'm home, thats good.' she thought. The Latina got up, still wobbly, and headed to her bathroom to get her medication. Once she had something, Tori went downstairs in search of a bottle of water, or at the very least some purified water from the home system.

As Tori descended the stares she was flooded with memories of the past. Of how her father had devised the perfect way to control her and Trina's Saturday night partying. A way that dissuaded them from drinking too much, or staying out too late. But they hadn't gone to church, let alone the early mass, in years. Without the threat of trying to get through a full Catholic mass while hung over to keep them in check, it was only their sense of self preservation that kept the sisters restrained. Tori once again felt that pang of hurt that her parents had given up. On her, on the family. They claimed they were just giving the girls space to explore themselves.

Last night, surrounded by friends she could trust, Tori had no reason not to drink. She knew she must have had some major motivation, however. She didn't like getting blackout drunk. Too many chances of doing something dumb. Tori knew safe meant in control. So she let her memories of last night flow, trying to remember something, anything, some reason she let herself get that drunk. 'I seem to recall something about Jade, and Robbie, and was she forcing him to hook up, or else?'

That thought sobered her up, as much as any thought could. Once again she couldn't escape the subject of Jade. Tori was so angry at the goth for what she'd done to Beck. 'And now that she was no longer dating Beck, she's using Robbie to help her deal with her compulsive need to order people around.' Tori fumed at the thought. She had to find something to occupy her mind, before she did something she'd regret. And any form or retaliation against Jade could well turn out to be something Tori would regret. In the past, Jade was willing to let it go with Tori winning, but only if her personal humiliation was below a certain level. 'I'm certain she had something to do with them losing my blood at the hospital that time. All over who got to play Steamboat Susie. I just never could prove she did it.'

Tori had to stop herself from thinking about Jade. But one thing was worth remembering, Jade could make her anger felt. Tori's practiced sense of self preservation, the same sense that had her jump out of a moving car (Thank god she didn't kill herself) told her to minimize the time Jade is wazzed at her. Tori was convinced Jade was burying bodies up in that desert. 'Probably what she uses that shovel for.' Tori decided.

At the same time, Tori couldn't just let Jade get away with cheating on Beck. 'She had no right to take him back. Not if she knew she was going to be whoring around like that.' Tori found herself thinking. 'Or threatening Rex if Robbie didn't go out and find someone. She's so selfish. Everything she does just winds up hurting the group. Robbie's out, trying to win his way back in. Cat was on the verge of tears. And Andre... Andre's defending her. DEFENDING HER! It doesn't make sense. Andre's always on my side.' Tori forced herself to stop. Trina was also defending Jade, but that didn't seem to matter that much at that moment..

Tori finished her thoughts by sending Beck a text.

Beck (From Tori) – Lets keep out arrangement secret from EVERYONE, for now. It's best if they think you've moved on.

Tori was now slipping, drowning in her anger towards her friends. 'They should be on board with hating Jade. It didn't matter how much Jade felt she needed the money, I'm was sure she could have found another way. Andre has a job, earns money.' Tori thought, over and over, not willing to let go of this chain of thoughts. 'And Andre always liked her.' Realization hit hard. 'Was he one of her clients? He says he'd never do that to a friend, but what about when Jade was single? My god, Andre fucked her.' Tori felt betrayed again, no longer sure when the first time that feeling had overcome her lately was. So let her anger stew for the rest of the day. It clouded her Sunday, and in retaliation she often cursed Jade for the manipulative gank she was.

By Monday, Tori was done. She'd spent her whole Sunday thinking about Jade, and how the girl had betrayed everyone. Not even Trina's attempts to talk to her, or get her to help with her sisters homework, had distracted Tori for long. But by Monday, Tori was done.

Tori was done with those thoughts. She didn't want to deal with that shit any more. She went to school, and tried to ignore Robbie. She didn't want to hear it from the comedian. Whatever excuse he had, Tori didn't care. As far as Tori was concerned Jade was his starter fuck. Until he admitted what he did, and that it was wrong, Tori didn't want to know him. It wasn't just the cold shoulder she gave him, she also played up the whole girlfriend with Beck roll whenever Robbie was around. Tori knew she just could not ignore Robbie completely. They had class together, and Tori found she needed the boy to know she was upset. So she ignored him in the most obvious way she could think of. When that didn't feel like enough, she stole Rex and hid him in Lane's office.

Tori's treatment of Andre was a little different. She let him know she was mad at him, gave all the subtle clues, but never even hinted at why. "You know what you did." Was all she'd say to her best friend. Despite being obvious how disappointed she was, showing it in her voice and interactions with the musician, Tori still treated him as her friend. His betrayal wasn't as deep, since it was probably while Jade and Beck were broken up. 'Still not right, but at least I can understand him.' She'd thought. 'In time, when he's past the shame, he'll admit it. Admit that he slept with Jade, payed her, and that it was wrong to sleep with his friends girlfriend. In time...'

Cat was the only member of the gang that Tori tried to treat the same as before. But for all the effort she put into keeping that relationship normal, It was a failure. Cat was having trouble adjusting to the new dynamics of her various friendships. As a result, Cat was retreating further into her friendship with Sam, and spending even less time out of school with the gang. Tori tried to understand, but still blamed Jade for the loss of yet another one of her friends. This was starting to fester in Tori's heart. 'Doesn't she see the damage she's done? Everything Jade touched is turning to dust.'

By the time they reached Sikowitz's class, Tori was practically hanging onto Beck. While Tori was making as big a show as possible of her apparent affections, Beck was now contributing to her actions. He'd hold and comfort her, keeping her attention on him and away from the others. Not blind to Tori's actions, he'd decided to protect his remaining friends from Tori's cold shoulder. The singer had been passively hostile to Andre all day, and Beck was trying to comfort her so she'd forgive one of his best friends. "Tori, relax. Lets just enjoy the rest of the day." He'd told her. "Lets not even mention you know who. Okay?"

Sikowitz, back from filming his roll in that movie, burst into the classroom through the second door, the one near the back of the room. This day, he seemed to be focused, all business. "Okay, class, today were going to start working on a new project. Jade I need you to..." He stopped and looked around the room, for the first time noticing one of his students was missing. "Where's Jade?"

"She got suspended for giving Scotty Peirson a concussion." Tori immediately said. The rest of the class had gone quiet at the mention of her name.

"Oh, well, this changes things. I was going to have her write something for us. Something to use for our own made for school project." Sikowitz said. "I was going to show you how acting for movies is different from acting for a live audience."

"We already know. We have film classes." Beck said.

"I know. But I wanted to go over how all the background you have to create helps you remember what your doing. It's important, given that you usually don't film the scenes in order. This will help you to understand the whole experience, so you can give a consistent performance." The coconut lover said. "It also helps you remember your motivation, and the choices you've made on how to play the character."

"And Jade was going to do what?" Andre asked. Tori glared at him sideways for mentioning that name.

"She always has something she's written up her sleeve. I was going to try and adapt one of her plays for a short film, and we could do the whole thing as a project. Go over what we need to do with each character and each scene." The teacher said. "Wouldn't even need to actually film it. Then again, that way you could see the completed project. Maybe compare how different people played the same character." The teacher was redefining the assignment before their eyes.

"How about we do parts of Amanda Rothschild's book, 'The Lost Seconds'?" Beck suggested. "It's got a nice selection of characters, and we could film it as a project. As long as no one makes any money off it, that should be legal, right?"

"I suppose, but I'll ask Helen to contact the proper authorities, get us permission. Beck, I'll need a copy of the book by tomorrow. And someone tell me whats going on with Jade?" Sikowitz said. "On second thought, lets wait until after class." The quirky teacher then got on with his lecture for the day. Tori found it interesting, insightful, and couldn't remember a word of it fifteen minutes later.

After class, Andre was left to explain to their favorite teacher what was going on in the group. Tori didn't care to be a part of that explanation, so was one of the first to leave, dragging Beck with her. Yes, their teacher was also their friend, but Tori realized he was the one person who probably shouldn't take sides. Some part of Tori still wanted Sicowitz to remain fair, neutral. And if Tori was involved in the discussion, then he'd know what a whore Jade had been. 'Let him live in ignorance. It's probably for the best.'

Late Monday, Tori got her email, letting her know all the tests were negative. Tori didn't have any venereal diseases. She called Beck, to share her news and see what his said. He hadn't opened his yet. "Tori, I'm kinda worried. What if this is what ruins my life? Am I facing a long series of treatments? Or something that can't be treated? I-I just don't want to be alone when I open this. Can you come over?"

"Sure Beck. I'll get Trina to give me a ride. Maybe we can do some homework after. Just to keep things as normal as possible." She told him. Tori got a ride from Trina, and hurried over. Once she arrived, she went to his trailer and knocked, nervous for Beck. 'Stay positive. It's probably nothing.' she told herself. 'But the possibilities...'

"Tori, glad you're here. Wanna see how badly I fucked up my life?" Beck asked. He motioned for her to enter.

"Lets be positive. The odds are that you didn't catch anything permanent. So lets just hope, okay?" Tori said. 'Besides, you're as likely to have caught something from Jade as from those sluts.' she mentally added.

"Here we go." Beck said as he opened his email.

Negative. Beck was clean.

The email said he'd tested negative for all known strains of sexually transmitted diseases. "I guess I dodged a bullet this time." He said. "I wasn't looking forward to contacting those girls and letting them know I had, well, whatever I could have caught from them." He smiled at Tori. "Lets get some homework done."

"Sure." Tori said, pulling out her books. She sat next to him and they talked as he worked on his school work. It was a relief, but Tori felt this was only one of the problems brought on by Jade's actions. So Tori helped Beck write a quick summary of the characters from "The Lost Seconds." She reviled in how much Jade seemed to dislike like the constant mentioning of the author around school. They'd present it with a digital copy of the book, and hopefully save some time in adapting it for the stage.

By Tuesday, Robbie was starting to get frantic about Rex's disappearance, and Tori was watching with a dark sense of satisfaction at his discomfort. Normally Beck and Andre would help him look. Instead, still being exiled from that group, he had to get help from several shruggers. In the end, Lane wound up finding Rex while looking in one of his drawers for his stash of a special hand lotion he'd misplaced. The guidance counselor was miffed that someone chose to hide the puppet in his office. The first thing he did was check to see if Jade had been in his office, or anywhere near the school. She was the usual suspect for this kind of thing. But Jade, being suspended, hadn't come close to school. Lane then called her home to confirm she'd stayed away.

Once Lane was sure Jade wasn't involved, he returned the missing puppet to Robbie, and started an investigation into what happened. Robbie questioned Rex, but his cooler half didn't know who'd kidnapped him "This Time". Tori knew she'd done a good job covering her tracks, so she stayed calm and enjoyed the fruitless attempt at finding out what's happened. There just weren't enough clues to follow, so everyone would have to let it drop. Tori just sat with a dark smirk on her face as Robbie and Rex walked out of school that day. 'Serves you right for what you did.'

Sikowiz took on the job of adapting the play, and the extra work made him give the class his usual list of crazy acting exercises. He'd let them know he was proud of how far they'd come as a group, but the art of acting was always about learning and adapting. "Never get too comfortable in yourself, or the roles you play. Always stretch yourself. I know some of the things I've come up with in the past seem crazy. But that's just because you're getting to the point where I need to work to get you to stretch yourselves. I'm not done coming up with new ideas to help you get out of yourselves, but I'm not going to be the only one doing it. Once Jade gets back, I'll challenge her crazy imagination to come up with a few project." Sikowitz seemed excited by the prospects of whatever Jade would come up with. It annoyed Tori to no end to hear her favorite teacher praise Jade's dark imagination, even as Tori begrudgingly admitted Jade may be the best writer in her class.

By Thursday Tori was back to plotting something against Robbie. Cece had texted her, saying that Robbie was wonderful. From what Tori could piece together from the text, random things said, and her knowledge of both people, she'd put together a fair idea at what was going on. Her friend was happy with how easy the boy was to manipulate, while still being good looking enough to be seen in public with. The thought of Robbie being Cece's toy didn't make Tori happy. 'He's still my friend, despite being a double dealing perve who paid his friends girlfriend for sex.' Tori really didn't want the puppeteer to suffer. Unfortunately, he was the only target she had at the moment. Andre was off limits. The musician was trying to guess why Tori was so wazzed at him, and not coming close. Tori just reminded him that "You knew what you've done." So with no other acceptable targets, Tori planned to ruin Robbie's date with Cece.

Trina stopped her, confronting her recent attitude. "Tori, you've been in a bad mood all week. Care to tell me why?" The older sister asked.

"It's nothing. Robbie just doesn't seem to understand that what he did to Beck is wrong. Andre did the same thing, but I think he knows it. I'm just waiting for one of them to admit it, so I can forgive them." Tori said in a huff. 'They have to admit it first.' She reminded herself.

"And what did Andre do?" Trina asked.

"He fucked Jade." Tori screeched.

"He told you? That doesn't sound like him?" Trina asked, sounding shocked.

"He hasn't admitted to it yet, but he had to. How else do you explain him taking Jade's side?" Tori shot back.

Trina took a second to think before answering. "Or he's trying not to take sides until he knows whats going on. And if you think about it, he took Becks side. Everyone took Becks side." Trina said.

"But Andre, he..." Tori stuttered, There was something off about the whole thing.

"So anyone who even thinks that Jade might be innocent slept with her? Maybe she's hiding something big. Something she's so afraid of people finding out that she'd be willing to be thought of as a whore rather than have people know the truth?" Trina asked.

"Jade's not afraid of anything. Except maybe, people making fun of her. And she's getting that, in spades." Tori said. "So why would she put up with it if she wasn't guilty?"

"First, she's claimed her innocence. No one believes her. Then we have the whole 'Cannot visit' rule from her father, so she could be hiding some kind of family drama. Whatever is going on, you've reacted as badly as everyone else has, only more so. It's like your taking it personalty." Trina pointed out, sounding annoyed.

"I am. She ruined everything." Tori said. As Trina looked at her sister, eyebrow raised, Tori found she didn't know why Jade had ruined everything. "Oh, forget it."

"Um, Tori, just to be sure, your not the one tagging her locker, are you?" Trina asked as her sister was walking away. Tori pretended not to hear.

The conversation had only further infuriated Tori. However, she decided not to interfere with Cece's date. If nothing else, Cece was her friend. Maybe Robbie was what the girl needed right now, though even Tori could tell the relationship was doomed from the beginning. Cece was going to use Robbie for nice dates until she fell for the next jerk. It was all too common, Tori had even done it, just not with Robbie. There was always a nice guy to date when she felt desperate, but those weren't the kind of guy she liked. 'What was it about the dangerous once that draws girls in like honey.' Tori wondered.

Friday came, and with it the students at Hollywood Arts once again started looking for parties to attend over the weekend, angling for invitations or figuring out how to crash. Of course, the so called 'main people' at Hollywood arts never had to look to hard to find parties. They often received multiple invitations before the end of the school day. Parties from multiple schools vied to get some of the most talented of Hollywood Arts students to attend, mimicking how celebrities are often on all the guest lists of the affluent in LA. And Tori, wishing to reinforce the image of her and Beck as an item, decided to hit a couple of parties with him. 'Trina's sharp. She'll suspect if we don't hit the party scene together.' She realized. But at the same time, Tori was starting to think that maybe they needed to figure out just what they were going to do about Jade. 'By now, Jade's aware of my "Relationship" with Beck. She's got to know by now.' Tori had thought about trying to hide it, and about sending Jade pictures. 'Maybe of me in bed with Beck, just so she knows he's moved on.' Tori decided she'd deal with the whole Jade think after she had a chance to step back and let go. 'Who, maybe I am taking this whole thing a bit too personally.' Tori thought. 'I hate it when Trina's right.'

Over the week Sikowitz had worked at breakneck speeds, and had almost finished the adaptation. So now it was time for him to get the class ready. "Okay children, I need to stress that this project, unlike a traditional movie, will have different actors playing the characters from scene to scene. I want each actor to make their character their own. Find your interpretation of who that person is, really find their emotional core. This way, you'll be able to see how each character is different based on the choices the actors made, despite having the same lines and the same actions taking place around you. I suspect each movie, each scene, will be very different. I look forward to seeing the finished product." The acting teacher told them.

"I've also managed to look at the sheer size of this project, and have decided to break you into two groups of six, with three boys and three girls per unit." Sikowitz continued. "There is no way I'd be able to handle all the filming on my own. So each group will have one student acting as director as well as acting in the project. Beck, you'll head one group, while Jade will take the reins on the other when she gets back. Okay, break into your groups." The core group of friends rushed to be on the same team, leaving Jade mostly shruggers. Tori talked Beck into taking Robbie, partially so she could have more time to question him, but also because as much as they hated to admit it, Robbie was one of the better actors in the class.

After divvying up the roles and agreeing to take Robbie in, they found that the class, and with it the school day, was coming to an end. Tori found that she didn't want to think about Jade, who'd dominated Sikowitz's class without even being their, and instead focus on the weekend. It was Friday, time to party. She was going to be seen by everyone on the arms of the handsome Canadian. By the time Monday came, she knew it would be a whole different story. Maybe she'd meet someone, or maybe Beck would. 'No matter what, tonight I help him get over Jade.' Tori thought with a grim sense of determination.

:}

I know, lets of filler. But I needed to set up what is about to happen. Lets just say that Tori is building a house of cards, fueled by her feelings. Beck's had a chance to reflect. And Jade, she's been gone all week, and yet has been one of the dominant things on Tori's mind. Kinda funny how that works.

So, next chapter, things come to a head. I'm hoping that I get the original, perky, forgiving Tori back after this. Anyone care to guess whats gonna happen? Also, poor Robbie. He's the target of opportunity for Tori. Glad she only did that one thing to him. So, comments, guesses, or just complaints since I used four thousand words to get through the week. Let me know.


	7. Chapter 7 Hitting bottom

Disclaimer: Don't own victorious or it's characters. I make no money off this. Don't sue.

Warning. In this story, and especially in this chapter, Tori and Beck have been going through different difficult emotional experiences. They feel betrayed by Jade, for different reasons, on a deep level. As a result, they've both been acting out of character. Don't worry, things are about to hit rock bottom.

:}

Tori had taken Beck out to a party to help him relax. She wanted to get Beck past Jade by talking about all the fun things in life. Problem was, she couldn't. At the various parties, people were asking her and her friends where Jade was. Jade had been a regular at the weekend parties, just like Beck, and the rest of the gang. Naturally people wanted to check in on Beck, and see how he was doing. That bought up Jade. Still other people were just looking for her. It seemed that Jade hadn't shown up to any of the Friday parties. People wanted to know if he'd seen her.

Everyone knew Jade, they knew she could find a party, and she wasn't the type to let a little thing like not being invited keep her from at least making an appearance at one if she wanted to. No, the girl wasn't bothering to show up. People, being people, were nosy. Casual questions became an avalanche of inquiries. Then some people started asking around, trying to figure out where the scary goth was. As the party continued, rumor began to fly. No one knew where the Jade was. No one had seen her.

Text messages raced across LA, only to be answered with more questions. Jade wasn't at any party attended by anyone who knew what she looked like. Then the rumors started growing, tinged by facts. It seemed that no one remembered seeing Jade last weekended either. Not at a single party. No one seemed to have seen the goth since the day she was suspended.

Tori found herself getting worried, but didn't know why. 'Okay, Jade's grounded. Yea, thats it.' Tori thought. 'Except she's not afraid of breaking the rules. She'd sneak out in a heartbeat. Hell, she'd walk out the front door. If she wanted to party, she'd be at a party.' An eerie dread settled on the singer. It was like the goth had disappeared.

It didn't take long for Beck take Tori aside. "This isn't normal." Beck told her. He'd been drinking, just enough to show. "Jade doesn't just stay at home, no matter whats going on in her life. She's probably making extra money, or maybe she's in jail. I don't know whats happening with her any more."

Hearing the growing sadness in Beck's voice, Tori tried to get him to focus on having fun. :"Beck, Jade's a grown girl. She can take care of herself. She's probably at a college party. Why don't we dance, have a drink, just let go and have some fun. We can't let her ruin our evening." Tori gave him her Bambi eyes. It seemed to work. For a time.

By midnight, Beck was hammered. But Tori didn't know anyone at this party well enough to trust them wit her safety. Tori had gone to a party beck wanted to go to, filled with Northridge girls, and with them were Northridge boys. Beck's friends. Tori didn't have her normal backup. Trina, who wasn't particularly liked by most of Beck's friends, had gone to a different party. Without her automatic safety net, Tori knew she'd have to be twice as careful, so she'd hardly touched any alcohol. 'At least Trina's with people we trust.' Tori thought. But the problem remained, Tori only trusted beck, and he'd been drinking heavily. That made her the one responsible for getting them home safely. Tori tried to get beck to head to his car. Only, he didn't want to go home.

"We need to find Jade. Make sure she's all right." He blurted, almost out of nowhere.

"What?" Tori had heard, but couldn't believe what he was saying.

"Jade's tough, but those streets, they're tougher. I was talking to some guys from Nothridge, and they were telling me how bad it can be for someone working the streets. Jade could be hurt, or worse, and we have to find her." Beck was saying. Tori didn't remember that conversation, but she'd spent a fair amount of time in sight of Beck while checking up on the rumors. To her mind, she'd done her duty, made sure jade wasn't there. His insisting on looking for her was annoying her.

"You broke up." Tori reminded him.

"That doesn't mean I don't still care about her. Maybe we can never be together, but she's still my first real love. I can-Can't just leave her out there." Beck sounded resolute, almost sad, but his legs were barely working and Tori had to get him home.

"Beck, we'll look in the morning, okay?" Tori said.

"Stay with me?" Beck said, again out of the blue. "I'm afraid." He seemed to just go quiet, his body shaking as he held back tears. Tori found herself supporting too much of his weight for her comfort. She didn't want people seeing her supporting him.

"Beck?" Tori asked.

"I'm afraid I'll never see her again. I need for her to know I'm sorry." Beck was crying, the internal struggle to hold back lost to his drunken emotions.

Tori had to ignore Beck's continued babbling and focus, using all her strength and acting skills to appear casual while trying to get him into his car. However, on rout, she realized that she couldn't drive them home. She didn't have her license, and while she hadn't done much drinking, she just wasn't that good a driver yet. 'You'd think I would catch on quickly, like I do almost everything else.' She chided herself. Tori knew she needed help. Especially since she didn't trust any of the people at this party nearly enough to let them know her date was so far out of it. So breaking down, she did what she had to do, what she knew was the only thing she could do to get help without risking alerting potential predators. Breaking one of the oldest yet least useful codes of the teen world, Tori called Beck's parents.

Within minutes, Beck's parents came to pick him up as well as deliver his car back home. They'd have dropped Tori off, either along the way or after getting him into bed, but Beck keep begging them to let her stay. Finally, his father agreed and left them to do whatever after making sure Tori had protection. By then, the singer was beyond being able to be embarrassed.

Tori wasn't going to be embarrassed because she'd been too busy thinking. The whole time Tori waited, and during the drive, she was consumed by one thought. 'He's still hung up on Jade. Even now, he's obsessed with her, begging to have someone tell him where she was, that she's safe. Begging! Of course she's safe. That girl could kill a rhino.' The whole situation was driving Tori almost insane.

Once Beck's parents were gone, Tori walked into his trailer with evil intent. 'I'm going to make sure he doesn't go back to her. I have to. Jade's too chaotic, too unstable. She'll only bring him misery and heartbreak. She'll hurt Beck and anyone who even tries to love her. It's... It's just who she is. It's a sacrifice, but I'll show him. I'll show Beck who his real friends are.' Tori worked herself up as she pulled out the roll of condoms. The roll Trina made sure she always had. 'I'll show him just how far his friends, his real friends, will go.'

"Beck? You awake?" Tori asked tentatively.

"Yea, kinda. Why?' He replied from his place on his bed.

"I was thinking, you're not safe to be alone, but if I stay the night, something might happen." Tori said. 'I'm not going to force anything, but if it happens, it happens.' She told herself, trying to convince herself that this wasn't deliberate. 'If it happens, it happens.'

"Your a good friend, Tori." He replied, his voice slurring. Beck was drunk, feeling alone and consumed by worry. It didn't take much to start. Tori sat on the bed and took his hand. She rubbed her thumb over his hand as they sat, looking at each other. She cuddled a little, letting him know she was there, while also rubbing herself against him. Subtle, and not so subtle, signals went out, telling the drunken boy she was willing. They kissed, and Tori rolled from her sitting position onto her back, pulling the handsome boy on top of her. Tori just let Beck do whatever from there. He deepened the kiss, and his hands started to roam. Tori moaned, giving encouragement but not directing. Soon his hands were on her breasts, then when he didn't get any signals to stop, he escalated to removing cloths.

Tori watched, almost detached, as her cloths went flying towards the couch. His just found their way to the bottom of the bed, as he got ready with a practiced precision that should have worried her. 'He's used to getting undressed while drunk.' Then, once naked, she had to work to get him to hesitate, just for a moment, so she could get the condom on him. She's thought about not using it, but liked him too much to risk a child at that stage. 'Best not to complicate this.' She'd thought.

The sex was almost too mechanical. Everything Tori did to try and make it memorable was wasted on Beck's drunken need to just finish and get some sleep. Tori would have to give him some credit, he did know his way around a girls body. But despite whatever training Jade might have given Beck, it was over far too soon. Beck rolled onto his back and Tori rode him, and once he popped, he was only marginally aware of trying to use his hand to help her get off. It was like muscle memory. Beck was asleep by the time she got off.

Tori looked at the clock. It was after two am, and she was lying awake in Becks arms, thinking she'd finally lost her mind. 'The sex wasn't that bad. Even drunk, he'd cared about me, made sure my needs were met. It's just... He wasn't really there.' Tori thought. 'Becks a good guy. I know that. But right now, I think, I'm sure, he wasn't with me. He was with Jade, in his head, he was with Jade. Not sure who he was with in his heart. I mean, that was almost disappointing..." It felt like Beck was going through the motions, even with her surrogate. Tori found herself softly crying.

By morning Tori was ready to go home. She only stayed so Beck wouldn't wake up alone. She needed to talk to him, let him know that she'd made a mistake. She didn't know why she'd slept with him, and now she wanted to save their friendship.

"Morning." He said.

"Morning." She replied.

"So, I take it you want to talk?" He opened. His body stretched, and for the first time in memory, that did nothing for her.

"About last night. I... I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I think I fucked up." She said.

"Big time." He replied. There was no humor in his voice. He sat up to give her his full attention.

"I..." she started. "I though I was helping. You certainly were into it." She didn't know why she was going on the offensive, but she was.

"I was drunk! You know I don't make good decisions when I'm drunk. Or angry, or just being stupid." His anger dwindled with each statement, until his voice was soft, quiet, but still above a whisper.

"Beck, look.." Tori tried again.

"Tori, I probably wanted this. At one time, I'm sure of it." He hesitated, gathering his thoughts. "But not last night. I know you probably gave me an out, but hey, by then, all I could think of was how good you looked, and how being with you might make it all right." Beck wasn't looking at her. His window had his full attention now.

"I'm sorry." Tori wasn't sure where they were, just that this was uncomfortable. She felt like maybe, she'd taken advantage of him.

"You know why I was drunk?" He asked. It was almost out of left feild. His voice was straining, like he was trying to hold back the hurt.

"Jade hurt you. I know, it must be so hard to get over the fact that she cheated on you. I'm here if you need me." Tori said. She was unaware how close to him she'd drifted.

"So I was a mercy fuck?" His voice was finding new life, malice dripping from the statement. His eyes found hers, brown on brown, daring her to deny it. Tori took a moment to think about it. She wanted to say it was to keep him from falling back into old habits, but that sounded petty.

"I was worried that you'd go running back to Jade. I know she's what you know, where you used to be comfortable. Trust me, I know how it feels to want to go running back to a relationship, even one that's bad for me. Beck.." Tori voice was cut off.

"I can't go back. I burned that bridge!" He snapped, then started pacing. Tori had no idea how he was standing so quickly, or how he'd gotten his shorts on. "Jade probably won't talk to me unless we have a class assignment together, and she still might just fail instead." There was so much hatred in his voice. It confused Tori.

"I know she can hold a grudge, but I'm sure she'll thank you, once she sees that..." Tori didn't get to finish.

"You mean, once she sees how I did it to help. I didn't, you know." His anger was still ripe, eyes once again digging into Tori's. "I did it to hurt her. Like I felt she'd hurt me. It wasn't until I realized no knew where she was, or had heard from her, that I even thought there might be consequences."

"Beck.." Tori started.

"Not her revenge, I'm talking about her being suspended, her being out there, without support, no one to look out for her. Everyone knows she's a whore, but what if I'm wrong?" His voice wavered, just for a second. "What if she'd tutoring, or maybe she's someone's mistress. Her mother was. That's how she was conceived." Beck was now sitting on his couch, staring at the floor as if it somehow had the answers he needed..

"You're still worried about her?" Tori asked, more curious then anything else.

"I didn't stop caring about her. I just let my hurt tell me what to do. That's why I was drinking. I.." He looked at Tori, and his eyes were filling with tears. "I told her secrets. Things she'd trusted me with, and I told everyone. I-I can't imagining how much that had to hurt." He was crying now, body shaking as the emotion overcame him. Tori moved across the room and put her arms around him, holding him until he stopped crying.

"Tori." He asked, still lost in his tears. "What am I? What kind of monster have I become? I hurt her, and I never gave her a chance to explain."

"Yes you did, but she kept saying it wasn't her shirt. I know it was, I got Robbie to admit that much, but he swears he thought it was his sisters shirt when he took the picture. Maybe...Maybe" Tori was lost.

"Maybe she really needed the money. I mean, we all take so much for granted. Jade was proud. She didn't want people to know she was so poor." He was holding onto Tori, and she could feel that there was nothing sexual between them any more. This was an act of friendship, and she had to do a lot more to make up for taking advantage of him the night before. "Maybe she felt this was the only way? Or maybe she has a sugar daddy, and he made her do it?" Beck continued like that for a few more conjectures, then fell silent.

After another half hour, Beck had stopped crying, and was just allowing himself to be held by Tori.

"Tori?" He asked.

"Yes?" She replied.

"I don't want to sound ungrateful, but I can't do this any more. The whole dating thing. I still want to be friends, if we can, but I can't be around you. Not like this." He sounded broken.

"I-I understand." Tori felt like shit. She'd hurt him. She had hoped to help, but now she felt dirty. "We're gonna be all right, right?" She asked.

"Maybe. In time. For now, I need distance. I'm sorry. I know you were trying to help." He said. He was trying to be strong, not to cry, but there was a lot of hurt in his voice, and his eyes.

"Okay. I guess I'll be seeing you." She got up and headed to his door. She paused in the doorway and looked back. Beck was still there, wearing only his boxers, sitting on his couch, looking broken. "If..." she started. "If there's ever anything I can do for you..." She let it drop. She pushed open the door and stepped out.

"Jade." Came from the trailer. "Find out if she's okay. I think I need to know, and I'm afraid of what I'll find if I look." he was on the verge of tears again.

"Okay" Tori said, and walked away from Becks home as fast as she could. A phone call later and her sister was on the way to pick her up. However, for the short time she was walking, Tori knew why it was called the walk of shame. Maybe she'd intended to be with Beck last night, but she was feeling the shame now. She'd used Beck, and got nothing out of it. Now she had to figure out how to live with herself, and find her way back to being the happy, perky girl everyone knew and loved. Tori didn't know if that girl still lived or not, but she had a lot of soul searching to do.

"What happened?" Trina's voice cut through the late morning air. The sound of her sisters voice startled the singer. Tori had been deep in thought, but wasn't really thinking about anything beyond how she'd screwed things up.

"I fucked up. I saw Beck weaken, thinking of going back to her, so I slept with him." Tori said, trying to sound as neutral as possible.

"So either he hates you, or wants you to be his fuck buddy. Which is it?" Trina said. Tori could tell her sister was serious.

"He says hell forgive me, but he needs time. God I screwed everything up." Tori finally cried. It was eating away at her all day. Tori allowed herself to cry the entire drive home. Once there, Trina helped her walk to her room. Trina wasn't too happy about something, but Tori was lost in her own pain, and her sister gave her some time to recover before laying into her. After she got changed into her pajamas, the cloths Trina set out for her, Tori was given some water, cereal, and an invitation to go back to bed.

"Tori, I know this hurts. I just need to know the specifics. Are you upset because Beck didn't want you? Or is there something else?" Trina tried not to sound bitchy.

"I don't know." Tori said, her voice shaking. "I screwed up a friendship, and I don't even know why."

"Okay. Lets look at the pieces. How was the sex?" Trina asked.

"He was drunk, so not so good. Used protection, but that's about the only good news." Tori said. "He tried, and he gave me a hand job to finish me off, but he was gone before I got off."

"How rude!" Trina replied.

"More like trained. I think that's how it was with Jade." Tori said.

"No wonder she went looking for something else. Someone who could appreciate her." Trina said, smiling.

"Trina!" Tori snapped at her sister. "Prostitution is nothing to joke about. Those girls get hurt, even killed. No one really cares about them, and the life is often hollow. We should be trying to help them escape from that life." Tori almost recited one of the speeches her father had given them about his work.

"My oh my, look who's defending Jade now. Did YOU sleep with her?" Trina joked. Tori couldn't answer, guilt at shagging Jade's ex still eating away at her stomach. "You know what? Maybe you should get some rest. Major par-tay tonight." Trina smiled, and Tori was left with her thoughts.

It was a few hours later when Tori finally made up her mind. Maybe Jade would be at school on Monday, but if she waited, and someone had taken the girl, then it would be another day before anyone could do anything to help. Tori had kinda promised Beck she'd look for Jade. 'I have to do this now. It's time I did something right.' Tori sent a text.

Sinjin (From Tori) - I need Robbie's home address. And Jade's. Asap, and on the down low. Thanks.

Tori had added Jade as an after thought. If Robbie was lying, then going to his home would prove that, but not how he'd gotten the shirt in the first place. Tori sent the text with a strange dread building in her heart. She was scared that she'd find out that Jade was sleeping with someone for money, and at the same time she was terrified that Jade might be innocent. 'If she's innocent, what kind of person does that make me?' She wondered. To keep her mind busy, she thought of what Sinjin would want. The boy always wanted something for his help, and it could be money, or a date, or something totally off the wall. She wished her sister hadn't taught the boy how to jump rope, because Tori could totally teach him that.

So Tori lay there in her bed, waiting for the reply. 'He's going to want something, but lets keep this simple. I know of a couple of parties he might want to go to. Maybe he'll take the same deal as Robbie, and introduction to one of my friends in return for his help?' Tori was trying to figure out who to introduce the geeky guy to when she got a text back, some twenty minutes later. It felt like longer.

Tori (From Sinjin) – Emailing you the address. You can Pearmap it later. Funny thing is, according to school records, Robbie and Jade live at the same address.

} 

So, that was it. My big Bori moment. I feel I was as true to the moment as I could be. Beck got used, and Tori feels guilty. Of course, both of them have things to live down now, and both have gone about as far down as they can. Beck's seen how he struck back at jade, while Tori still doesn't know why, just that she went too far. And oh yea, I gave you something at the very end.

So review. I like all opinions. Guess why Jade's living in the same house as Robbie, or maybe it's just the address used to get her and her brother in to a better school. I'm sure you have your guesses, and I'm not telling which one is right.

Happy reading.


	8. Chapter 8 the first secret reveealed

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or any of it's characters.

Warning: Some o the characters are going through an emotional crisis, for lack of a better term, and thus may be out of character.

:}

"Trina!" She shouted, sitting up in bed. This was something. 'Jade and Robbie living together?'

Sinjin (From Tori) – Are you sure?

Tori (From Sinjin) - Yes. Every student needs a home address, not just a mailing address, and Robbie's current address is the same as Jade's.

"What? Are you hurt? Did Jade find out you shtupped her ex and put some kind of voodoo curse on you?" Trina asked as she ran into Tori's room. There was genuine concern on the older sisters face, despite her jokes.

"Jade lives with Robbie. As in the same address. Sinjin got it from confidential school records." Tori said, sounding excited. 'Not sure what this means, but it has to mean something.' She thought.

"So, it's not the first time I've heard about this. Two families of limited means find a house, and rent it together. Saves money, but you live with the other family. It happens." Trina said.

"But why would Jade hide this?" Tori asked.

"Wouldn't you?" Trina replied.

"Not in the face of, Well, I mean, Robbie's not that bad, right?" Tori said.

"Not that bad, and you couldn't even hypothetically live in the same house as him?" Trina asked.

"So what do we do?" Tori asked. A new wave of guilt was building, thinking of how she'd so happily participated in shaming Jade when there was a possibly legitimate reason for everything.

"Call Cat, see if she want's to visit Robbie. We pretend that's our reason, and we don't know Jade lives there. Simple enough." Trina said.

Tori called the ditzy girl, and they made arrangements to go visit Robbie on Monday after school. It would give them time to come up with an excuse on how they knew where he lived. Tori was also trying to think of how she was going to handle the whole Beck thing. 'I'll wait until I'm sure there's no hanky panky going on, then I'll tell him. He's broken up enough about this.'

It would also give them a chance to see how Jade was doing. Tori was worried that Jade might be out for blood. Having slept with her ex, Tori was one of the prime targets for revenge from the goth, a girl who had made her entire reputation based on the simple philosophy, "You'll regret fucking with me."

Tori decided to go to a party that night, just to get the whole fucked up situation off her mind. Beck was upset that she took advantage of him, and she could understand that. As long as she was sober, she understood how Beck felt. And not just the feeling of being used by a friend. She now understood his apparent weakening, coming out of his long held anger, like waking up from a long drunk, and starting to regret what he'd said and done. Beck was worrying about Jade. Tori had promised to check up on her, but wasn't planning to do anything until after school Monday. Unfortunately, if she waited, it might as well be the same as if Beck didn't ask her. Tori was sure she wasn't going to look for Jade until she was sure she'd be safe, but that required seeing the goths reactions first. That required Monday.

Tori drank. It was safer than being sober. The alcohol took the pain, and her restraints away. Tori was breaking her own rule, and got lucky that chose Trina stay next to her all night. As Tori drank, she started trying to process things she thought she'd already understood.

"How does any boy feel bad after getting some of this?" She asked, gesturing down her body. Trina moved a step closer, protecting Tori from the boys around her. Boys who were monitoring how much she'd had to drink. Boys who were more than happy to get her more. Tori complained about everything, about Beck, as she got hammered. And the boys were only too happy to listen.

"Okay, he was hurting, and I cheered him up. I fucked him good, and all he can think about is that harpy of an ex girlfriend of his. I mean, I know I'm better. Maybe not hotter. I mean, she has great boobs. Love her curves. I'm not saying she's not hot. Bitch is hot. I'm saying she's a total gank. And a whore. Or maybe not, I'm kinda confused now. Just..." Tori was cut off by Trina's hand over her mouth.

"We should probably think about what we say, for the time being." Trina whispered in her ear. Tori shifted to pull herself free and spoke.

"I know what I'm doing. I just want to vent. Talk to my new friends about whats wrong with boys." Tori said, gesturing to the small crowd of boys around them.

"You're done. Time to go home." Trina said, cutting off any protests Tori might have. "Tori, I'm gonna take charge of checking in on Jade. You just rest, get your head straight." Trina said as she practically carried Tori to her car.

She had seen Andre earlier, so looked around until their eyes met. Trina gestured with her head, and being the great friend he was, the musician made his way over to where she was pulling Tori towards the door. He helped move the Latina out of the house while Sinjin, who'd also been there, watched from the sidelines. Trina addressed them both as she strapped her sister into the car. "Andre, spread the word, Tori is off limits to anyone until we get this straightened out. Sinjin, make sure they know. Come Monday, there's going to be hell to pay, so everyone should be on their best behavior." She'd left a lot unsaid, but both boys seemed to understand.

A threat from Trina would normally be ignored, but for some reason, that night it was spread like wildfire. By the time Trina finished getting Tori cleaned up and in bed, slap updates were confirming Trina's warning had spread. Trina looked at the clock. It was barely midnight. Early for a Saturday, but considering how much Tori was drinking, probably later then they should have been out. She sent a text to her parents, letting them know that their daughters were home safely, then sent a text to Robbie.

Robbie (From Trina) – How is Jade? I know you know.

Trina then settled in Tori's room. The younger sister was lying on her side, but for the first couple of hours, Trina wanted to watch. If the girl got sick, it would be better for everyone if she was there. Trina brought her computer, and watched some stuff off Hulu. By two in the morning, she was done with her movie, as well as waiting for Robbie to respond to her text.

Robbie CC Rex (From Trina) – I expect an update on Jade's condition by the time I wake up on Sunday. If I don't get it, you can explain your (&Jades) living situation to me.

Running out of characters, Trina debated sending another, but decided to wait. She could call Robbie tomorrow and get as much as the nerdy boy was willing to share. It was only a matter of time before she had whatever information she needed.

Sunday morning Trina woke up on the floor of Tori's room. The younger sister had woken up, took some aspirin and some water, and went back to sleep. Trina checked on her, then on their parents, then went down to get some breakfast. As Trina was eating her cereal, she opened her phone and checked her messages. She had several, but two stood out. One from Robbie, and one from Rex. She read Rex's first, since the puppet had responded first.

Trina (From Rex) – Jade's fine. Just grounded. Nothing to see, nothing to know. She's been keeping busy, and she's fine. Now leave us alone.

Robbie's was a little different.

Trina (From Robbie) – I think Jade's been hurting herself. Never let anyone know I told you this, she doesn't know I know & she'll kill me if she finds out I told.

Trina read the last text over and over. This was worse than she expected. She'd heard Jade say, on occasion, that the goth liked to punish herself, but never imagined it was this bad. Of course, her training said once they start with the self harm, psychologically it's the same if they cut themselves or they run in freezing cold wearing only shorts and a tank top. The goal is to punish themselves, hurting themselves to ease psychological pain with physical pain. Jade wore ugly uncomfortable shoes, a symptom, and a gateway for deeper self mutilations. (Yes, that what it's called, even if there's no scaring.)

'The good news is, Jade's alive.' Trina thought. 'I just hope she doesn't take it out on Tori.' Trina finished her breakfast, and started washing her dishes. Then she called Cat.

"Hiiiiiiiiiii." Cat answered the phone.

"Cat, tomorrow at school, try and calm Jade down. There's going to be trouble, and I'd like to keep it to a minimum. Please, whatever you can do, just help Jade relax, keep her from blowing up." Trina knew this was a long shot, but Cat was the best chance. Cat could do it, if she remembered to. Of course, Cat might still be angry at Jade, but the ditzy girl was Trina's best shot.

"KK" Cat said. "How's Tori? They say on the slap that She and Beck broke up, then had breakup sex. I'm not sure what that is, but it sounds dirty. I mean, is it a requirement? I hope it's not, cause it would make it awkward to date some guy if I knew we'd have to do" hushed tones "that" back to normal "if we broke up."

"CAT!" Trina wasn't going to have this conversation. "Just write down that your going to spend time with Jade, and calm her down."

"Wait, am I still mad at her?" Cat asked.

"Not anymore. I'll explain later, but now your trying to help her calm down." Trina said.

"KK" Cat replied.

"Did you write it down?" Trina asked.

"Write what down?" Cat replied.

"Can I speak to your roommate?" Trina tried

"Sam's still asleep. Can I take a message?" Cat said.

"See me first thing Monday." Trina said.

"KK" came the reply.

Trina was exhausted. She had to believe this was intentional. Cat couldn't be that stupid, not naturally. Either she was suffering from some kind of condition that caused her to get dumber, or she was retreating from the real world. Either way, Trina worried about her. Maybe later, she'd try and help, but for now, she had other fires to put out.

Trina found herself going over how the members of Tori's social group were doing. Jade was hurting herself. Tori was hurting. Beck was hurting. She briefly though about stomping on Andre's foot, but decided she didn't need the whole group to match. Monday, she'd talk to Robbie, find out what she could about Jade supposedly hurting herself.

Trina decided she'd take care of as much prep work as she could before Tori got up. Trina still needed to see where Robbie lived and get directions, so they could drive over after school. 'I suspect he'd notice if we followed him.' she joked to herself as she Fed the address Sinjin had sent Tori into Pearmaps. The first image she got was the usual map like image, but it didn't give any details, so she switched to satellite view. The satellite images showed a nice home, a mansion really, while the address warned it was in a gated community. One of the most secure gated communities in the Hollywood hills. After spending a few minutes admiring the size of the house, Trina called Andre.

"Yo, Trina, whats up? Tori okay?" Andre asked. Trina guessed he'd gone home last night after telling people to stay away from Tori. He certainly was awake and alert right now.

"She's fine, but I need something from you. Tori said you're uncle is into real estate, right? I was wondering if there were any houses to look at in the Palace Royal community in the Hollywood Hills?" Trina asked. Andre took a few moments to answer, probably looking the place up.

"Not sure that's a good idea. Whomever your stalking, I don't think you'd qualify to see any homes in that upscale type community. It's practically Bel Air. Maybe you could try mailing yourself?" Andre said. He laughed at his own joke, and Trina briefly reconsidered stomping on his foot.

"I think that's where Jade said she was living. If she's telling the truth, that she's living in a multimillion dollar home, then I couldn't fathom why she never admitted it. That is, unless she's somehow embarrassed about how. Tori and I need to check, confirm she's there, but according to the community's websight, it's one of the most secure gated communities in California." Trina said. "I just want to check things out, you know, discretely. So, can you call your uncle and see if he can find us a house to look at?"

"Why would Jade be embarrassed to be living in that community? It's like the chiz. I heard Kenan Thompson moved there to avoid that stupid guy in the panda costume." Andre said.

"I can't explain right now. Not before I check things out. So will you call your uncle or not?" Trina replied.

"I'll give him a call, but don't hold your breath. The odds are against it." Andre said. "I think they pre-screen potential buyers."

"Just let me talk to him." Trina said. Andre agreed.

By the time Tori made her way down stairs, Trina was well on her way planning how they were going to get into the gated community where Robbie lived to confirm that Jade lived with him. There were a lot of questions that needed answers now. Why was Jade living in the same house as Robbie? Why, if they lived in such a nice house, was Jade avoiding talking about it? Robbie didn't have that much money, did he? He did once buy a $400 bike at school, for cash, but he also spent a month without a phone because he refused to pay for it. Trina was trying to work out how to get her answers without directly asking Robbie about it, since she did hint she'd let it go if he told her about Jade.

Tori spent her Sunday finishing her homework and recovering from the weekend. She was still feeling bad about how the whole Beck situation had ended, as well as how drunk she'd allowed herself to get. She'd broken her rule, getting hammered in a situation where she wasn't sure someone would be there to take care of her. While Trina would, it wasn't fair to her sister to place that kind of responsibility on her without asking first. Tori felt guilty for assuming, and ruining her sisters fun. Tori was almost drowning in guilt. But the mission Beck had given her was her lifeline. 'I'll fix everything by helping Beck. I figure out why Jade lied to us, and why she's living with Robbie.'

By the time they gathered for the family dinner, the only remaining vestige of the once loving Vega family events, Tori was feeling far better. She even talked to her mother about what was going on in school. Holly listened, as much as she ever did, but looked off in her own world. Tori, it seemed, could only reach one person at the table, and that was Trina.

The patriarch, David Vega, was talking to his eldest about collage. He was sure she could get into a decent program somewhere out of state, but would be far happier if she found herself going to a state collage on the far side of California. "Humboldt state university has a great reputation, and it's affordable." He told her. "And it's only six hundred or so miles away. You could drive there in a day." Trina wasn't happy about that.

"What kind of theater arts program does it have?" She'd asked.

"They have a good social work program, and one of the best forestry programs in the state." David said.

The conversation continued, with Tori watching her family try and convince Trina that the distance would do her family good. Tori didn't want her to go. Not that far. Trina was still her main lifeline at parties. Until she straightened out her life, she needed her sister near by. Maybe Trina could be self centered, but she was always there for Tori. The youngest Vega didn't want her sister to move over six hundred miles away for school. Also, she'd miss her sister.

After dinner, Trina and Tori talked. "Depending on your definition, Jade's okay. Rex swore she's fine, but I think he did so with scissors to his through." Trina said.

"What makes you say that?" Tori asked. Trina forwarded that text, letting her sister read Rex's words over several times. "Yea, it doesn't exactly sound like him. Maybe Jade stole his phone? If she lives there, I could see it. And why does she live at the same address as Robbie? Is it like an apartment or something?" Tori asked.

"From what I could see on Pearmaps, it's a mansion. A huge mansion." Trina said, smiling as she pulled out her phone. "Don't worry, I'm on top of this. Tomorrow after school, we pay them a visit. I can't grill Robbie for answers, I kinda promised I wouldn't, but you and Cat can. I think it's time we got past this charade and found out why Jade stopped bragging about a house this big." Trina said as she pulled up the Pearmaps photo of the house. Zooming in, the house was on at least an acre, and had a pool as well as a few other amenities. Tori figured there was something wrong if Jade wasn't bragging about that home. Normally, the goth would have posted pictures, including the front gate. It was the Jade thing to do to taunt the other students.

"Maybe her fathers the butler?" Tori asked. It was one possible explanation, but as far as anyone knew, Robbie's family didn't seem to have that kind of money either. "Maybe both families work for the owner?" Tori knew she was stretching. Despite all of the drama involved, Tori knew she owed Beck some news. She forwarded Rex's text to the Canadian, and turned her mind back to figuring out what was going on.

"Or maybe well find out tomorrow." Trina said. She knew that no one was going to tell them what was going on. They'd need to find out for themselves. Jade had endured ridicule to the point where she might be hurting herself. Robbie had fared better, but was still cut off from his friends. Trina suspected that the recent new attitude Robbie was showing was part of some master plan Jade had to extract revenge, but couldn't put the pieces together.

After dinner, the Vega sisters watched a movie before going to bed. Both felt they needed to calm their nerves. Tori chose a romantic comedy, while Trina made popcorn. The sisters laughed and enjoyed the story, knowing that despite all the false starts and miscommunications, the two main characters would find each other and fall in love. "I wish Amanda Rothschild would write a romantic comedy. She's so insightful, it would be dreamy." Trina said.

"Just marry her already." Tori moaned, but inside she was grateful for the company. 'Besides, I'll bet she really would writer a great romantic comedy.'

:}

There you have it, the eighth installment of this story. And while it mostly covered a few things, I think To added to the mystery. So thoughts? And don't worry, There are more hijinks awaiting our little crew once they get past school on Monday.

Review, it makes my day.


	9. Chapter 9 expecting repercussions

Disclaimer. I don't own Victorious, nor do I make any money off of this story.

Disclaimer 2: Some characters may act a bit out of Character.

:}

Monday Tori made her way into Hollywood Arts feeling a little nervous. Would Jade know what she'd done with Beck? Was it worth it? Tori didn't think so. She told herself, over and over, that her goal had been to help Beck. However, she'd know that sex with a drunk and remorseful Beck was unlikely to help him, and she did it anyways. She felt like crap for that, both for what she'd done to Beck, and what she'd done to Jade. She even suspected she herself came out of it hurting, but didn't feel she deserved sympathy.

On top of that, There was still something not right about the whole ordeal. Tori knew it, she knew her sister knew it, but no one seemed to know what was off about it. Tori did know she was probably making it worse. 'I just hope I can change that, soon.'

Tori was looking around, hoping that something she saw would help her clarify her thoughts and figure out what was bothering her, when she saw Jade. The goth was standing there, leaning against her locker, looking out across the open hall. Tori first instinct was to get out of any possible line of sight. She didn't want to be what Jade was looking for, because no matter how much she felt she deserved whatever happened, she had no intent of dying that day. She wasn't sure how much Jade knew, and was unwilling to find out. At least until Jade let her know, however painful that may end up being. So, using whatever cover she could find to avoid being seen, Tori moved from the doors to her locker.

As Tori was opening her locker, she glanced back, just to see if Jade had noticed her. For the briefest moment, she and the goth made eye contact. Jade was looking right at her! Or rather, had noticed her long enough to send a quick glare, then refocused on something else. Something more important. So much so that it was dominating Jade's attention to the point where Tori became a secondary thought. And Tori wanted, no needed to know what could have that kind of effect on the goth. Following Jade's vision, Tori saw Robbie talking to Cece. The thought 'What's Cece doing here?' briefly passed through her mind. As much as she wanted to go and ask, she decided not to. Moving into the line of Jade's focus wasn't high on her to do list. Not while the goth was preoccupied with something other then causing her pain.

Tori didn't have much time to think about what Cece was doing there as the bell rang and they started their day. Tori noticed that Jade was unnaturally quiet in the classes they shared, not talking unless answering a question. Things got more weird when, during lunch, Jade was missing. It was as if Jade had pulled herself out of society completely. Tori did notice during passing that Jade's locker was tagged again. The word "Whore" in bright red letters covered her locker and the scissors she adorned it with. Still, Jade didn't seem to notice.

Remembering that Trina had asked Cat to talk to Jade, Tori decided to ask the fluffy girl if she had. Tori reasoned that maybe, just maybe, she'd managed to somehow calm the semi-psychotic goth down. Maybe even going too far, getting Jade to be passive for a while. But when she did ask the smaller girl, she was told "I haven't spoken to her all day. It's like she's avoiding me. Do you think she's avoiding me?" Cat asked, almost offended.

For a second, the briefest of moments, Tori had to remind herself who she was dealing with. Then she tried to explain things to her perky friend. "Cat, we've been avoiding her for a couple of weeks. It's possible she's just giving us space. Maybe the constant shaming has gotten to her. I don't know." Tori said. "Just, I don't know. Give her space, and well figure everything out after school."

That explanation seemed to satisfy the happy girl, for the moment. "Kay kay. See you after school."

Tori smiled, but reflexively looked around to see if anyone had overheard them. 'Don't need anyone asking question.' she reminded herself. 'And why is Cece here? I thought this was a closed campous.'

During Sikowitz's class Jade continued to sit in the back and act like a shrugger. When Sikowitz told her about the assignment, she just shrugged and accepted her part. When the broke into groups, she barely spoke to hers. Instead, she just sat back and let them decide who would play what role. Since the assignment wanted each group to shift who played what role, and thus each role would be played at least twice to show contrasting styles, the shuggers had surprisingly little trouble handing out the parts. Each scene was quickly cast. Of course, even in a situation as adjustable as this one, there were a few arguments. But the shruggers were left to figure those out on their own. Jade just watched them make a few deals, bargaining for the scenes they wanted.

Of course, Jade shocked everyone when she didn't try for any major roles, accepting minor or supporting roles in every scene. It only caused one problem. Jade was playing the same role in a couple of scenes because it was the least desirable role, and Sikowitz didn't want anyone playing the same role twice. Tori watched as the crazy teacher forced them to switch Jade's role while the director simply sat and observed. Tori once again wondered what was going on. 'Well, it is Amanda Rothschild, and jade is the one person on earth who thinks her work is overrated. Or just doesn't like it. I've never been clear on why she doesn't read the lady's work. But since Jade's doesn't like the project, probably doesn't wanna be involved in it, then maybe thats why she doesn't care what role she gets. That group is gonna be so screwed.' Still, tori knew passive aggressive wasn't Jade's style. 'More like active aggressive.'

Finally, during study hall, Tori had her chance to get some answers. Robbie was in her study hall. Moving like a clumsy panther, Tori tried to get closer before she struck. Of course, being young and dating, they only saw her out of the corner of their eyes when she knocked over a couple of books. But that just emboldened Tori to take a more direct approach, motioning for them to follow her. It wasn't hard to get them to agree, after a very brief silent argument. Tori knew the real questioning would come once they were away from the other, studying students. No one likes messy conversations in study hall, especially the teacher, and Tori didn't want detention messing with her party schedule. But Cece was at school with Robbie, and Tori wanted to know why.

"Cece, what are you doing here? Not that I mind, but this is a closed campus." Tori asked as soon as they'd moved to a better place for the discussion.

"Her school had some kind of teachers meetings, so no school today for Cece. And since she was free, I kinda invited her to spend the day here. Don't worry, I got permission first. It's amazing what Dickers will do for you if you ask." Robbie answered. Cece smiled at her friend, but stayed quiet. It seemed a lot of people were staying quiet today.

"Can I speak to Cece alone?" Tori asked.

"Okey-dokey cowpokey." Robbie said. He then moved back towards the class, giving the friends some more privacy.

"So, Cece, I thought this wasn't serious. I can understand using him to get a tour of the school, but to quietly let him talk, it's not like you." Tori said. Her friend smiled while carefully looked around, almost as if she needed to make sure no one could possibly overhear them. Then Cece leaned in, taking a breath and checking, once again, that no one was within earshot. She seemed determined not to be overheard.

"Tori, it's not like that. I do want to see the school, but I last week I ran into the scariest girl I've ever met in my life. I mean, she glared and it felt like my blood was freezing. And you know what happened? She told me to make a choice. I could break it off with Robbie, or I could promise not to hurt him. She made it crystal clear that if I hurt him, she'd do far worse to me." Cece said in a low voice, while keeping the fakest smile Tori had seen in a while on her face.

"So why are you still with him?" Tori asked, a bit confused.

"If a hot girl is willing to threaten to chop me up with scissors and mail me across Europe, just to protect him, I figure there has to be something special about this boy. I'm just trying to figure it out." Cece said. "Besides, I think I love him."

"uh.." Tori couldn't find words. Robbie was a friend, and she cared about him, but she couldn't see a girl as hot as Cece falling for him. Tori herself had told Cece not to break Robbie heart, but didn't have much hope of the girl being too nice. Hot, self centered girls like her rarely were. But now Jade had threatened her, and she was convinced she'd found her diamond in the rough.

"I know it's kinda sudden, and we haven't fucked yet, but I figure once he gets over that ditzy munchkin ginger wanna-be, I'm in. Or rather he's in. And he's a virgin, so I can teach him right." Cece was sounding excited about this. Tori, for her part, was still a little confused.

"Okay, do whatever you want, but please don't cause too much damage among my friends. And Cat is one of my friends." Tori said, almost defeated.

"Her name's Cat?" The redhead asked.

"Yes, and she's sweet." Tori replied. Then she waved Robbie back over, and spoke to him. "Any reason Jade missed lunch? I mean, does she have a new social group yet?" Tori asked, feeling she needed to change the subject. Again, dangerous territory, but part of Tori wanted to know, just because she felt bad for Jade. Meanwhile Cece moved away, just in case the goth somehow knew when her name was spoken.

"She has to make up some in class activities. A couple of tests, and a performance or two. She'll be done by tomorrow. If you want to talk to her, she'll be here after school doing her makeup work." Robbie offered. He gave her a genuine smile.

"That's okay, I was just curious. So tell me, you and Cece got plans?" Tori asked. 'God, he's going to get whiplash from how quickly I've been changing the subject.' She chided herself. But the more she knew, the more likely she'd be able to fulfill her sisters plan, so she persevered.

"Yea, were going the house of a friend of his who lives in a fancy neighborhood, and using the amenities. It's a gated community with all kinds of stuff for the residents. I want to hit the spa, then sunbath, and then maybe we could go for a swim." Cece said. She was beaming as she answered.

"Okay, you do that." Tori said. After a few moments, she stopped and considered the date Robbie was taking Cece on. 'He's taking her to Palace Royal and lying about how he was getting in? That's pretty dedicated to keeping this whole living arrangement thing a secret.' She thought. Tori was going to let them go when she remembered something. While she'd planned on sneaking into the gated community to get her answers, she did owe it to Robbie to give him one chance to explain. "Oh, and Robbie, can I have a word with you, in private?"

"Again?" Cece whined.

"Allrighty." The puppet master said. Cece used that as her opportunity to wander over to a window that overlooked the big dance studio. She started swaying to some imaginary beat as she watched the dancers practice whatever they were studying. Praying Trina wasn't in that class, for Cece's sanity as well as her own, Tori turned her attention to Robbie.

"Okay, I can tell you like Cece, so I'll ask. Where's Rex." Tori started.

"They don't get along. She hates it when he tries to talk up his Northridge girls while we're on a date. So I talked to him and he agreed to give us some space." Robbie said.

"Okay, then lets get to the meat of the matter. According to school records, you live with Jade." Tori started.

"You can never bring that up!" Robbie whisper yelled. It was the first time since they started talking that he'd dropped his voice. "She will kill us both and bury us in a junkyard. Just forget you ever heard that."

"I was going to ask how that happened, but now I suspect you don't want to talk about it." Tori said.

"I do, actually, but no one can know. It's kinda a secret. And no one is supposed to find out." Robbie almost whined. "Tori, it's been like this ever since we moved in together. Too many secrets, and it's tearing us apart. Jade's hurting herself, my sisters freaking out, and Jade's brother... Actually I think he's the only one okay with the whole thing. Just, uh, never mention it to anyone. Please, you have no idea how big a problem this is. I don't even know, and I'm part of the conspiracy."

Tori was taken aback by Robbie's sincerity. It was almost enough to cause her to change plans. Almost. Tori was thinking about it for the rest of the day, as she contemplated telling Trina and Cat that it wasn't their business. It sounded like neither would be home, and she wasn't sure what they'd accomplish anyways. Guilt was still eating away at her for the damage she'd already done, and she wasn't sure she'd want to cause any more. 'There has to be a way to fix things...' she thought, but without knowing what was going on, she had no way of helping.

And tori needed to help. She needed to do something to fix things. To make up for the harm she'd already caused.

It was just before the end of the day, with tori warring with herself about what to do, when she was called into the guidance counselors office. Sighing, Tori headed over, ariving to find Andre and Beck were also there, waiting to see Lane. The secretary told them to go into Lane's office, and they'd be joined in a moment. Beck shuffled to the farthest seat from Tori as they waited. Andre seemed oblivious to the tension between the two, or noticed but attributed it to the situation. No one likes being called into the guidance counselors office.

"I need to tell Trina I'll be late." Tori said to the room

"It's all good, I can give you a ride." Andre said. Beck remained silent.

"I really have to. We're planning on a sisters retreat for today. Hanging out and bonding kinda chiz." Tori lied. It was getting to be harder to be around her friends, what with all the lies that were flying about. But the truth had cause so much damage. Tori figured that maybe lies were the best thing until she knew what was going on. Besides, they didn't need to know anything about what Tori was doing, or trying to figure out. If they did, both boys would jump to the wrong conclusion. Not that Tori knew what the right conclusion was. But she knew she had been living in the wrong one for weeks now, and felt that for once she'd get the facts before she told anyone.

Trina (From Tori) - Called into Lane's office. May be a while. Abort?

Tori felt good about the text she'd sent. Maybe Trina would use this as an excuse not to go, and she could take the time to decide if she really wanted to know whatever secret was tearing Robbie apart.

That's when Lane and Sikowitz walked in. Both looked serious, and neither was talking. It was unnerving to see their favorite teacher acting so serious. Tori started getting nervous, thinking about what it could be that caused her to be called in. She didn't think she'd done anything wrong, and as far as she knew, they didn't have the authority to kick students out for stuff done off campus. The boys were likewise nervous, but Beck seemed just uncomfortable while Andre was on the verge of freaking out.

"I'm glad you could make it." Sikowitz started. "I'll make this as brief as possible. Does anyone know whats up with Jade?"

"Ask Robbie." Beck answered.

"Why?" Sikoitz asked.

"No reason. Beck thinks Jade..." Andre started.

"Good gravy, is that still going on? I thought that was last weeks drama? Look, I'll call in Robbie if I have to, I just want to know what happened to Jade?" The teacher said. Lane seemed content to sit in the background and stay quiet.

"I thought you'd like it with Jade quiet." Tori heard herself say. Beck gave her a sideways glare. Andre looked around, feeling more uncomfortable.

"I need a director. Jade can't direct if she's so passive. A good director takes charge, has a vision and moves to make it a reality. Right now, I don't have a second unit director, and the project will suffer for it." The Acting teacher said. "The students will suffer for it."

"I'll do it." Tori offered.

"No offense, Tori, but your only successful directing has been when your actors didn't need direction. I need a visionary who can motivate the actors to give their best performances. Especially with that group, it's all shruggers." Sikowitz ranted.

"Maybe we should call Robbie in." Lane offered.

"Or maybe you should talk to Jade?" Andre offered. "I think she's just being cautious after being suspended. Taking some time, trying not to be such a grung. I'm sure she'll do fine directing her parts of the project."

"I don't know..." Sikowitz said.

"Maybe your right. Jade's doing makeup work right now, so I'd leave it for now. If she's still unable to do her job, we'll have to find someone else. Maybe someone in her group can step up?" Lane said.

"No one else in her group could do this." Sikowitz said. "I need talented and experienced directors, and I chose the only two available for me."

"Then we switch groups." Andre said. "Beck directs the other group, and Jade works with us. We're the ones Sikowitz trust the most to find our characters."

"We'd have to move a girl from our group and a guy from the other to keep the genders equal." Tori said. 'I could be the girl, stay away from anything Jade might suddenly decide to do to feel vindicated.'

"Doesn't matter. Beck wouldn't be able to get the right performances out of that group. I need Jade." Sikowitz said.

"Hay!" Beck responded. "I'm probably a better director than she is."

"I don't think you understand. Jade could get them out of themselves to give good performances. Beck, you lack a certain something..." Sikowitz said.

"They don't fear you enough." Lane added.

"You mean respect." Tori quickly offered.

"No, I mean fear." Sikowitz clarified. "I was just looking for a better word for it."

"Are you saying I cant be as scary as... oh who am I kidding. Jade's the scariest person at school. If you need them afraid, then she's the choice." Beck said.

"Only she isn't. I want my gank back." Sikowitz whined.

"And you'll get her." Andre said.

Tori got a text from Trina.

Tori (From Trina) – We'll wait for you. Cat is anxious to see where Robbie lives.

"Can we go? That was Trina giving me the two minute warning." Tori said. She was lying again, but didn't want to be here listening to how evil Jade was a great director. She needn't have worried. The adults allowed the teens to go, and Tori raced to Trina's car. She got there to see her sister and Cat playing cards on their phones. 'I wonder if they're playing the same game, or just think they are?' Tori thought.

"Get in. We need to get moving if we're going to make our appointment." Trina said.

:}

So the great buildup is continuing. Jade's a bit withdrawn, and Tori is out to find out why Robbie taking Cece to school was more interesting to jade then ripping Tori's head off. Of course, it's possible Jade hasn't heard yet...

So, thoughts, concerns, maybe a really good limerick. Review. I've almost got Chapter ten done, and it has information that you may find interesting. Hint, the clues I've dropped support what they might discover.

Oh yea, loved where I ended the chapter.


	10. Chapter 10 adventures in Castle Royal

Disclaimer: I don't own victorious. I did make up Palace Royal, but I shouldn't have had too. It's just too perfect a name for a gated community. (If there is one, I didn't find it on my Google search.)

Disclaimer two: I'd say spoiler alert, but it's part of the story.

:}

Tori sat in the car, watching her sister check her mirrors while Cat giggled in the back seat. She was having second thoughts about Trina's plan, and those thoughts were making her stomach spin. "I'm not sure this is such a good idea. Neither of them will be home." She in formed her co-conspirators.

"That's even better. Now buckle up. I need to make a stop, and I don't want to be late." Trina said, starting the car. They pulled out of their spot at Hollywood Arts and started towards the exclusive living community of Palace Royal.

Tori felt a little confused by that attitude. But that was the nature of Trina's plan. Or rather, what Tori suspected was Trina's plan. The elder sister hadn't exactly filled her in on how they were going to get past the gate, beyond claiming to be looking at an open house. 'Like she could ever convince them she had the resources to afford one of those...' A noise brought her out of her thoughts.

"Yay, road trip." Cat exclaimed. "I'm. Going. on. a. secret. Trip. to. my. Friend. Robbie's. house." She said, each word spoken slowly as she typed on her phone.

Tori whipped her head around and stared at the redhead in the back seat. "Your not posting that, are you?" Tori asked.

"Maybe? Why?" Cat said, her face showing she didn't know what was wrong with the post.

"Robbie follows you. He'll know were coming." Trina said. A look of understanding crossed cat's face.

"Delete. Post." Cat said.

"Did you send it?" Tori asked.

"No, I wasn't done typing yet." Cat said, defending herself.

"Give me your phone." Tori requested. Cat did, and the young Latina checked her history. Luckily, Cat hadn't sent it yet, but only because she liked to proof read in case auto correct made her look stupid.

Soon the group were at a small hole in the wall restaurant near Castle Royal, and the three girls found themselves having an after school desert. When they'd arrived, Tori had argued that stopping for a snack wasn't a good idea. Still Trina insisted, saying "We need to keep up our strength if were gonna make it into Castle Royal." So the three girls wound up sitting there, eating pie and talking about what they were doing, who was probably doing what to whom, and whatever else came up for a good twenty minutes until Trina got a text. "Okay girls, the way in is now open. Lets go." The older girl announced.

"KK" Cat said as they paid and left. Tori wondered at how sneaky her sister had become in the last few months. Trina always thought of herself as stealthy, but up until now her plans were often as bad as Robbie's. Tori didn't have long to think before they arrived at the front gate.

"This is your plan?" Tori asked. "The front gate?"

"Hush." Trina said, rolling down her window. "Trina Vega. I'm here to look at a house." She told the guard.

"I.D." The guard replied. Trina pulled out her Drivers license.

"Here you go." She said. Then pointing at the other girls. "They're with me."

The guard hardly looked, instead swiping Trina's license and checking his Pearpad. "Looks good." he announced. "Do you need directions?"

"Thanks, but I've downloaded the communities map to my phone." Trina said happily.

The guard pushed the button on his pad that opened the gate, adding "Have a nice day."

"You too." Trina chirped. The whole thing took maybe thirty seconds.

Tori was left dumbfounded. 'They just let us in? I thought.. I mean, the security.. now I'm babbling in my head!' She was brought out of her thoughts by Trina's voice.

"Okay, this is where we split up. Tori, you and Cat gather information while I take a tour of a multimillion dollar house. I'll drop you off as close as I can get. I'll forward a copy of the community map to your phones so you can find your way, and meet up with me when your done." Trina said.

"How'd you..' Tori started. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to know how Trina had pulled this off.

"I'm looking at the house for one of the producers of my hit show,.." Trina didn't get to finish before Cat and Tori were out of the car and ruining across the park that was built next to and around the community center. The older girl just shrugged and drove to her destination.

The two girls managed to get to Robbie's home fairly quickly, walking most of the distance. It was still over half a mile, but neither minded. They enjoyed the walk through the planned, gated community. The trees were well taken care of, and the houses were all so nice. Even the sidewalk was designed with walkers in mind. It was a pleasant walk, each girl pointing out features of the houses they liked. That was, until they got to the neighborhood they were going to, where all the houses were behind locked gates. Once they arrived, they took the moment to admire the home. It was huge, at least four stories tall and covering a fair amount of property. They had to get past the gate around the home, so Cat decided to just ring the bell and wait for someone on the intercom. Of course, she didn't bother to tell Tori before doing that.

"Hello?" Came the voice on the intercom. It was male, and to Tori, it rang of a distant familiarity. Not sure where or when she'd heard it before, Tori immediately hid from the camera.

"Hi, I'm, uh, Cece." Cat said. Trying to sound like the girl Robbie was dating. While not quite the mimic Jade was, Cat's ability to alter her voice was truly astonishing.

"Oh, really? Aren't you supposed to be meeting Robbie at the Day Spa? It's in the community center, if your wondering." Came the reply.

"We'll, I got lost, and wound up here. And since I was here anyways. I was thinking that maybe I could meet his parents." Cat said. Tori was surprised that Cat could come up with any of this. She'd mentioned that Cece was on a date with the boy, but for Cat to remember the name was almost amazing. Cat could be so vacant sometimes.

"You should go meet up with him." Came the reply.

"Are you his father?" Cat asked, and Tori face-palmed. She couldn't believe what Cat was doing. Still, it was sticking to the narrative. And then there was that voice. That voice, the male voice that answered the intercom. That voice worried her, making Tori check again and make sure she was hidden from any cameras that might possibly see her. Tori just knew she didn't want that voice to know she was there.

Tori still had question, however, and since Cat had already opened the dialogue, she decided to push their luck even further. The voice hadn't answered Cat, as if he was trying to figure something out. But Tori wanted to put a face to the voice, and end the mystery of Robbie's family. After all, with as much as they knew about the nerdy boy, no one had ever met his parents. Tori decided to go for broke as she pulled her phone and compact out. She then texted Cat.

"I'm his father." The voice finally said. "You can call me Mister Shapiro."

Cat (From Tori) – See if you can get him to come here so we can see his face.

The redhead's phone honked, so she looked at it briefly, reading the message. Then she looked back at the camera. "I want to see your face." Cat said. Even she knew it was an odd request, but didn't stop to think. Tori, for her part, was thinking of how to make a quick escape. That request was just too sudden, too strange. But a second later, a panel opened next to the intercom, reveling a flat screen. A picture appeared as the screen came to life, revealing the man Cat had been speaking to. Tori used her compact to see what the man looked like while Cat shot a none too discreet picture with her phone. Somehow, to the camera, it looked like she was checking her phone.

"You look familiar." The Mister Shapiro said. "Have we met before?"

Tori froze. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she took what felt like forever, but probably wasn't any longer then usual to pull out her phone and pull up a picture. It was a face she hadn't seen in over a year. Taking the time Mister Shapiro was using to scrutinize Cat's face, Tori was able to find the picture and compare it with the image she saw from around the corner. There was no longer any doubt in her mind, and suddenly Jade living here made perfect sense. Thomas Shapiro was Jade's father.

"Hi Cat." a female voice said. Using the mirror on her compact again, Tori looked to find the source of the new voice. She saw an older woman, probably late thirties to maybe forty at the oldest, who looked a bit like Jade, standing in the open doorway in the background. She was holding a tray, probably bringing mister Shapiro something. "What're you doing here?"

"Hi misses West. How's Jade doing?" Cat replied. The man looked at Cat for another second, then picked up the phone

"Security, I have an unauthorized visitor at my front gate." He said.

"Run" Tori screamed, and the two took off.

"He he he he" Cat giggled as they ran. After a short while, Tori saw that they were near the community center, so she looked around for a place to hide until Trina was done. Going into an open door, they found themselves in the office area of the center. Tori led Cat into a back room. The two were panting, both a little winded from the sprint. "Um, Tori, why were we running?" Cat asked.

"My god, this is bad. That man, the guy who said he was Robbie's father." Tori said. "I think he's Jade's father too."

"What makes you think that?" Cat asked.

"Look at this picture of her father I have from when he went to see her play." Tori said showing Cat the picture. Cat took Tori's phone to take a closer look, then took her own phone after it honked. "Did you sent yourself the picture?" Tori asked.

"Yea, but don't worry. I just needed it to do a side by side comparison." Cat replied, smiling as she handed Tori her phone back.

Tori didn't have a good feeling about that, it just didn't sound right, but let it drop for a second. She had other things on her mind, like Jade being Robbie's sister. It wasn't the last thing she'd have expected, but only because she'd never have believed it if someone had told her. No, the freakout was only being held back because they still had security looking for them, and she couldn't afford to be caught. Realizing Cat had been looking at the picture for over a minute, the Latina finally asked. "Well?"

"I think they have a freezy queen next to the day spa." Cat replied.

"What about the pictures?" Tori asked, trying hard not to scream.

"I kinda see it. Let me do some research." Cat said.

"No research. We can't let anyone know about this until we talk to Robbie." Tori said, "Come on, we need to find him."

"Who?" Cat asked.

"Robbie." Tori replied, leading Cat through the building to the front desk. "Excuse me, were friends of Robbie Shapero, and we're trying to find him. It's kinda important. Can you direct us to him?" She gave the lady her best smile.

"Let me check." The lady said, typing something on her computer. "Ah, here it is. He and his lady friend just finished their scheduled massages and have reservations in the tanning salon. It's in building G."

"Thank you." Tori replied, then led Cat to a map of the buildings that made up the community center. They found the salon, and quickly made their way to where their friends were tanning. It took a bit of sneaking, but they managed to get into the back where the tanning area was. From there, a clipboard pointed them to the right beds. Or bed, since Robbie wasn't tanning. He was sitting by Cece's bed, playing his guitar. He saw the girls as they entered the tanning area, and moved to block their progress.

"Tori!" He whisper yelled. "You shouldn't be here!" He gestured as he tried to motion for them to leave. "Wait, how'd you get past the gate? I mean, you shouldn't even be here." He reached for his phone as he spoke.

"You don't need to call anyone, we're just here to ask a few questions about Jade." Tori started. Luckily, Robbie had a hard time staying mad at Cat.

"Wasn't gonna call anyone. Now that I'm not playing my guitar, I thought I'd check the slap, maybe see what was in some of the alerts I missed. Go ahead and tell me what you came her to..." Robbie paled as he looked at his phone. Tori didn't like his reactions.

"What is it?" Tori asked. She looked over his shoulder and saw the two pictures of Jade's father next to each other with the Tag "Jade's father on the right, Robbie's on the left. Who thinks these are the same person? Tori wants to know."

"Cat!" Tori screamed. The ditzy girl jumped. "Why did you post the pictures?"

"I wasn't sure if they were the same man. I needed a second opinion." The smaller girl said as she clutched her phone.

"Were dead." Tori said, sitting down hard.

"Of course there the same guy. If they're not, then their twins, and I can tell you my dad doesn't...I mean, of course there not the same person." Robbie said, in a near panic. "Oh who am I kidding. Jade's gonna be so fucking pissed." Robbie said, pacing almost in place.

"You swore" Came from the tanning bed. Tori recognized the voice as Cece's.

"Why?" Tori said again, looking at Cat.

Followers (From Cat) - Tori's mad at me, please ignore that Jade and Robbie have the same father, even though it means that they probably didn't sleep together. :)

A beep and a glance later, and Tori was beside herself. "Cat, we need to get this taken down. I think that's the reason Jade didn't want anyone to know where she lived." Tori explained.

"I agree." Came Cece's voice from the tanning bed. "Now someone fill me in."

Robbie moved over to the tanning bed and quickly informed his date about what had just been discovered. "Okay, so Jade's your sister. That makes me feel so much safer. Robbie, I'm beginning to think, maybe, were not right for each other."

"Your breaking up with me because Jade's my sister?" He asked.

"Well, it makes you less hot if she's not your Ex. Still, I'm willing to sleep with you. I just don't think we'll work out as a couple." Cece told him.

Robbie's phone beeped again.

Followers (From Cat) – Robbie's girlfriend is a slut. Offered him breakup sex once she found out he didn't do it with Jade. After that, they're broken up.

"Cat!" Came from both Tori and Robbie.

"What? It's true." The short girl said.

"But we don't need to tell the world." Robbie said.

"Hold on, I'm going to find out where Trina is." Tori said. A quick exchange of texts later, "She's still looking at the house. Robbie, sorry about invading your privacy. Cat and I will just find a place to hang until Trina's done. Just one favor little favor please."

"What?" The boy replied, frustrated.

"Try and calm Jade down." Tori gave her best smile. The nerdy boy was obviously wavering when his phone beeped again.

Followers (From Cat) – Tori's trying to charm Robbie into calming Jade down. Is everyone after my guy? It would work better if Tori was willing to show some skin. #amateur.

Robbie read his phone, and groaned. "Cat, you have to stop posting everything thats happening." He said, showing Tori the post.

"We'll be at the Freezy Queen." Tori said, leading Cat out of there. Cat gave a happy squeal, while Robbie slid down into his seat.

A short time later, Tori was safely on her way home. Well, as safe as could be expected. She was worried that any moment Jade would show up and rip her apart. Her only saving grace was, from past experience, Jade didn't follow Cat on the slap. That meant that they had a window to make their escape before Jade hunted them down like animals. While Tori was having traumatic flashes at every pair of scissors she saw, Trina was gushing about the house she'd looked at. Trina had been talking about the place the whole drive. She felt that it would be a perfect place to live once she makes some serious money. "And the best part, Amanda Rothschild owns a house in the community. We'd be neighbors." Trina said.

"Can we worry about my impending demise?' Tori finally asked. The stress had been adding up, and now Tori needed assurance that she would live to see another school day.

"Don't over react. Jade might not kill you. Maybe she'll be happy that the secrecy is over?" Trina said. "Or maybe Sikowitz will be happy that she's back to her angry self again. You said he needed people afraid of her."

"I'm going to die, and you're making jokes. Trina, this isn't funny. Jade endured a lot of slut shaming just to keep this secret. She'll kill us for sure." Tori moaned. "Cut us up and bury us in the desert, maybe even alive. I mean, This was her big secret."

"Okay, How'd they afford to live there?" Trina asked. "I think there's a lot more going on then just family drama. Like, where's Robbie's mom? No way that guy has both families there. Just, think about it. There has to be more that their hiding. I'll bet even Robbie doesn't know what."

Tori didn't bother to try to answer. She just looked out the window and worried about what might happen. And her worries didn't lesson as they dropped Cat off with her roommate. Part of it was overhearing Trina talking with Cat's roommate, Sam. It seemed the ICarly alum wasn't going to protect Cat from the consequences of pissing Jade off. Trina did get her to agree to talk to Jade, maybe calm her down, but only if the goth showed up at the apartment. Sam had no intention of invading Jade's home. "I mean, what kind of person does that?" Sam had asked. It was the best they could get.

Tori got home without hearing anything from Robbie or Jade, and her paranoia was building. She wanted her father to check her room for Jade, or explosives, or whatever fiendish thing Jade would come up with to extract her revenge. Of course, her father was working, investigation a case, while her mother was planning another trip to visit family.

Holly Vega worked, but even Tori had no idea what her mother did to earn money, while the Vega matriarch seemed to have a very eclectic schedule that had her working when Tori needed her, or out doing whatever. Tori pined for the days when her family would sit and eat dinner together. Those warm memories were part of why Family Pot Pie was such a treat. It was a meal shared by her family, something that brought them all together. Pushing past her nostalgia and the warm feelings it brought, Tori managed to get Trina to check her room, including the closet and under the bed.

"I can tell you right now, Jade's not here. The monster under your bed swears he'd book it if she slipped under there, while the psychotic killer in your closet admits he's scared of her. Neither would be here if she was." Trina assured her.

"Thanks." Tori didn't need the sarcasm. Jade was going to end her life, and her sister was making jokes. Tori finished her evening routine and settled in for a long, sleepless night. Despite her fears, and guilt, she did get some sleep, but was exhausted when her alarm startled her in the morning. Tori started her day by falling out of bed.

"Trina, I don't feel so well. Maybe I should stay home." Tori said.

"Right, because you'd rather be here, all alone, when Jade decides to talk to you. Personally, I'd at least want witnesses." Trina said. Somehow Trina's words failed to bolster Tori's confidence.

:}

Okay, don't hate. I did drop a few clues as to Jade's relationship with Robbie along the way. Let me know if you want a recap. But Trina's right, there's more mystery ahead. Just not as big, or as deep. There's also the consequences of this revelation. Yes, more to come.

So what did you think? Questions? Comments? Really good oatmeal cookie recopies. I'll take it all.

Next time, the fallout begins. I know you're already guessing at what that entails.


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